Looks Can Be Deceiving
by Kaila.Nicole
Summary: It's senior year at Lerner's School. There's prom, graduation, and... Sam! Sam's back, his memory almost gone, and in love with Max. But is he hiding a much darker secret? One that could disrupt the Flock's relationship all-together?
1. Look Who's Back!

**Max, Fang, Iggy: 17 (seniors)**  
**Nudge: Fourteen (freshmen)**  
**Gazzy: Eleven (sixth grade)**  
**Angel: Nine (fourth grade)**  
**(All at Lerner's School, the one that opened in "The Final Warning", except this one is located in Florida. The school has three separate buildings: high school, middle, and elementary.)**

I woke to the sound of my alarm, water running, and the thumps of feet outside my door. Snapping my eyes open, I took in my queen-sized canopy and the light drifting in from the window.  
"How many times have I told you not to do that?" I questioned out loud, slamming my hand down onto the snooze button before rolling back into my pillow. There was a chuckle from the bathroom as the door opened, revealing Fang with his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth.  
"Do what? Wake up?" I groaned, rolling over to face him as he made his way to my bed. "Curtain. Close it. Now."  
He chuckled again, "Or what?"  
"Death." He just shook his head, sending droplets of Old Spice-smelling water all over me. I growled as he suddenly ripped the warm blanket off of me.  
"Damn it, Fang, do you want to see the light of day?"  
"Sure!" He agreed all-to eagerly and the room became brighter. He laughed again, placing a kiss on my forehead, before retreating back into the bathroom.  
The Lerner's School was located in Palm Beach, Florida, right down the street from Disney Land. Well, not really, but for me and my super-flying it was. So, I might get you caught up with the eight of us.  
Fang, Iggy, and I are what you people call "seniors". Nudge is a "freshmen", Gazzy in the sixth grade, and Angel in the fourth. Total and Akila aren't really in any classes, but God forbid Total reads this without him mentioned in it.  
Picky son of a bitch.  
Anyway, Fang and I are dating (as if you couldn't tell already), Iggy has a girlfriend, who just happens to be a blind person/mutant too, and Nudge at the moment has a giant crush on one of Fang's friends. My mom is one of the science teachers, and Ella is supposed to transfer in next semester. Jeb died a couple months ago, due to unknown reasons, but we think the School used some new experiments on him. Today Fang, Iggy, Mom, and I are introducing the upcoming students for the fall semester.  
I stepped onto the landing, my eyes scanning over the huge crowd already formed in the lobby.  
"So how many newcomers do we have?" Fang glanced over at my mom before he swept back across the newbies. "Eighty or so. And forty of them are dorming here." I was about to open my mouth and voice my opinion, which was "Dammmmnnnn!", but thought better of it and clamped my teeth together. Fang smirked besides me, which meant he knew my dilemma, and I mentally flipped him the bird.  
Then, as Nudge came through the crowd and onto the stairs, my eyes caught the worst sight… ever. No, not the Flock dead, Jeb wearing a dress, or Erasers barging in. It was… my gut twisted upon thinking the name…  
"SAM?" Fang hissed, like the name was hot acid. Which, it kinda was. Fang's eyes flashed towards mine, his finger staking out my ex-boyfriend. Pssh. It wasn't like Sam was a boyfriend to me in the beginning.  
"What," He spat at my mom, "Is he doing here?" She followed his look to where Sam stood below, shoving things into a backpack.  
"Jeb said that after Anne, the School got a hold of him. I'm not really sure what his DNA is, though. Maybe… shark?" Fang snorted, placing an arm around my waist, as Sam finally felt the sense of someone watching him, and looked up. Then, unfortunately, his eyes found me, and he smiled. Oh, God. Fang's hand was tightening around my hip, to where I was considering the fibers of my jeans would rip.  
"Down, boy," I muttered to Fang, smirking, but he looked at me gravely.  
"How can you be so calm? I'm surprised I haven't bashed his head into the railing yet!" I rolled my eyes at Fang, a knot forming in my stomach as Sam exited from the crowd and onto the stairs.  
Up the stairs. And towards me. And Fang, who was violently tearing into my jeans and clenching his jaw tightly. Did Sam have some kind of death wish?  
"Hey, Max!" Sam greeted me as if we were old pals or something. As if! I half-smiled, which kinda turned into a grimace,  
"Hi, Sam. What brings you here?"  
_Do not let go of Fang. Do not let go of Fang. We don't need to be tried for murder._

**AN: Mildly edited as of 11/20/10. And when I say mildly, I mean: spelling mistakes and punctuation. If I still had a heart for MR, I would try to lend a hand and help this poor story out, but I've got too many other stories lined up in other fandoms to worry over this one. **


	2. Secrets at the Dinner Table

Later that night, the ten of us were seated around my mom's dinner table. Yeah, my mom had moved from Arizona and all the way over to Palm Beach. So, it was just Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Angel, Gazzy, Emma (Iggy's girlfriend), my mom, me, and Akila and Total (who were on the floor, even though Total whined about that for over thirty minutes).

And of course, the ninth one was… Sam. I shuddered just thinking about it. My mom had to be all nice and invite him over, since she could tell we had a close past. Apparently, she didn't know how close of a past, and now Fang was making his fork cry, with as much pressure as he was squeezing it with. I could see his knuckles turning white, as I took his hand away from the poor fork, and held it in mine.

Fang glanced over, his eyes smiling, as he picked his fork back up with his left hand and began eating again.

"So, Sam, what brings you down here to Palm Beach?"

He shifted in his chair, looking uncomfortable, "Uh… it's just what my mom said I would need. After I was kidnapped and all." Cue cricket chirping. My mom had a pained look on her face, as if this news hurt her, but I was happily gripping Fang's hand and smiling.

"So, Sam, tell us again where you're from?" My mom must have wanted a change of conversation.

"Virginia," Sam chimed in, shoving mashed potatoes in his mouth as he continued, "That's where Max and I met."

"Ah. So, did you know any of the Flock, then?"

_God, Mom, this isn't Jeopardy. Please just stop. Please?_ I wanted to beg and plead and get on my knees to just make my mom throw him out of the house, but I knew I would make a fool out of myself, and my mom wouldn't listen to me anyway.

"Yeah. I knew Fang somewhat, I'd seen Iggy around school, and the rest of them… I'd only seen when Max was around them."

"So, were Fang and Max dating by then?" Mom laughed, looking over at me to wink. Oh, no. Shut up, Mom, please! PLEASE! But I just half-smiled again, then concentrated on my steak like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Which at this point, when you thought of who was sitting across from me, it was. Of course, Fang was doing enough staring, with his death glares aimed at Sam. I was surprised Sam hadn't dropped dead in front of us all already.

"Uh… no. Actually… I was dating Max." My mom stopped, her smile dropping, as she gave me a pointed look.

"Really? Max never told me that."

"Yeah," Sam looked down at his plate, scraping his fork against it, causing a horrible screeching noise to erupt through the silence. The whole table was quiet, the only sound being the annoying fork. Nudge finally sighed angrily and reached over, the fork flying right into her hand.

"Now would you like to tell Ms. Martinez why you're _not_ dating still?" Nudge narrowed her eyes, tossing the fork back at Sam, and I smirked. I loved that girl. Sam looked up at her, then at the rest of us, his gaze lingering on me for just a bit longer,

"I- I don't know why. That's kinda why I came. To find out where Max had gone." The tension around the table rose, as everyone (including Emma, who had heard the story before Sam had arrived that night) shot confused looks at everyone else. And then suddenly, Fang's hand was out of mine, the pointer finger of it… well, pointing, at Sam in the face.

"_You_," Fang hissed and I swear Sam jumped back, "You little shit," My mom's eyebrows rose at this, but even she didn't interrupt him, "You know _exactly_ why you two broke up. Because you cheated on her, you fucking piece of crap! You cheated on her with her _enemy_. And that's about the shittiest thing you can ever do!" Fang quickly snatched Sam by the collar of his shirt, lifting him off of his seat. "You _ever_ do _anything_ to hurt Max again, and I will personally slam you up against a wall and set you on fire myself. And that isn't a threat, it's a promise." Fang then dropped Sam back down, the table silent again. "I'm done," Fang shoved his chair back and then stalked out, all eyes on him as he walked out.

"I- I think I'll go home now," Sam stuttered quietly and then ran out, the front door slamming behind him.

"FINALLY! That kid was hogging all the potatoes," Gazzy grinned as he brought the potato dish next to his plate, "I thought I was going to starve to death or something!"

"Not possible," Iggy muttered and the table erupted into laughter.

"I'll be back in a sec," I excused myself and ran outside, onto the balcony, where Fang was leaning against the railing and watching the waves roll in. I closed the sliding-glass door and stepped up next to Fang.

"I don't trust him," He grumbled, placing his forehead on my shoulder, as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"When haven't you?" I grinned, but Fang said nothing, as a boat in the distance blared its horn. We stood in silence for a few more minutes until I decided a change of conversation would be nice.

"Can you believe we're seniors? God. Seems like yesterday we were those three- Iggy, you, and me- rowdy freshmen, tearing up the halls." I saw Fang's mouth curl up into a smirk, his head raising up to place his chin on top of my head.

"Yeah," I felt and heard him speak, "It's like these past three years have gone by in a flash."

"What is he doing here?" Fang questioned, motioning with his hand to where Sam was walking down the street, his backpack slapping against his legs as he rushed away.

"I don't know. But all I want is him to leave me alone."

"Me too," Fang growled and let a breath out, stepping away to grab my hand, "Let's go back inside. I'm still hungry." I smiled, letting Fang lead me away from the ocean-scene, as I slid the glass door behind us shut. But what _was_ Sam doing here? All the way down in Florida? Something had to be up.


	3. Teeth and Austin Powers

Sliding into my assigned chair, I dumped out the contents from my purse, searching for my pen and highlighter. Stupid teachers with the stupid specifications. Not like I was going to remember _Grapes of Wrath_ in my future. Seriously. I groaned, not finding what I was looking for, when I felt that same old tap on my back. God, we were a month into the year and it was _already_ getting old? "

What, Sam?" I hissed through my clenched teeth and pushed my hair away so I could see him.

"Looking for something?" He pointed to the junk on my desk.

"No, Sam, I just enjoy sharing my tampons with the class!" I exclaimed, rolling my eyes as I shoved everything back into my purse.

"What do you need?"

"Highlighter," I replied back to Fang, who had taken his seat next to me. He dipped his hands into his backpack and retrieved a bright yellow Sharpie. "Thanks," I kissed him quickly before the teacher entered the room.

"I had one too," Sam complained from behind me.

"Well, she doesn't want yours because she knows you touch yourself at night," Fang snapped, motioning to the pen Sam was holding.

"Yeah, you're right," Sam said smugly, "But I dream of your girlfriend when I'm doing it." Even if I was super-gifted, there was no way I could have stopped Fang form jumping up so quickly.

"What the _hell_ did you just say?" Fang growled, gripping Sam's collar and lifting him out of his seat. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. But hey, I wasn't complaining.

"Fang Williams!" Mrs. Watts snapped as she entered the room, "What have I told you about that? No more, or I will revoke your diploma!"

"But he-"

Mrs. Watts rolled her eyes and dumped her folders onto her desk, "Oh, Fang, did Sam start it? I'm so sorry. Do you want me to kiss your boo-boo and make it better?" The class laughed, and even though it was funny, the thing about the diploma swallowed any humor I had. Fang collapsed back into his seat, shooting Sam a dirty look, before taking out his supplies.

Sigh. Boys.

"Hey, Max," Sam poked my side with his pencil.

I groaned, turning my head to meet his, "What?"

"So… I've been seeing these signs everywhere that say 'Homecoming Week'. Any chance you could tell me what it is?" I felt an evil thought pop into my head, and I felt the need to have a very fat cat in my lap and petting it while I answered Sam.

"Sure. It's the week our school was established. And every day of that week, you dress up in a different outfit. Monday is movie day, for your favorite movie. Tuesday is pink day, Wednesday is tacky day, Thursday is pajama day, and then Friday is Spirit Day."

Sam thought this over, nodding as I finished, "So what's Spirit Day?" If I could have, I would have rubbed my hands together and let out a maniacal laugh right in the middle of English class. Oh, did he ask the wrong person. Poor, poor Samuel. I was really going to have fun with this.

On Monday, I wore a sundress (yeah, I know! Max, in a dress? Can it be true?) with a pair of those oversized sunglasses celebrities wore all the time. I had actually "borrowed" them from Nudge's dresser. But since I hardly ever see her during school time, I doubt it would be a problem. I exited my dorm, and the familiar sensation of someone behind me appeared.

"Hello, Fang," I smiled up at my boyfriend, who half-grinned at me. His "I'm dead tired from studying for that damn construction core quiz but I'll try to act like I'm not about to fall asleep" smile.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Fang glanced down at my attire before walking with me to class.

"I'm Molly, from _Uptown Girls_. And just who are you?" I looked him over. He was dressed in an unusual outfit of plain white. White shirt, white pants, and faded white sneakers. Definitely _NOT_ the normal Fang attire.

"I'm Fang's evil twin, Teeth."

I burst out laughing at his sarcasm, "Wait, shouldn't regular Fang be the evil one, on account of him always wearing black?"

Fang chuckled, placing a kiss on my lips before explaining, "Ah, you see, that is how Teeth is deceiving. Everyone thinks he is the good one, since he is wearing white." I nodded, biting my tongue to keep from laughing at Fang's appearance. He just looked so damn dorky and… un-Fang. "And just what are you laughing at?"

"You."

"Well, that's not fair. You're being mean," Fang pouted as I giggled, shrugging as we headed down the English hallway.

"Sorry, Teeth, I just couldn't help it. So, what has the band planned for this evening?"

"Band practice. What else?" Oh, yeah, Fang had his own "band". I had to say that, otherwise he would shoot me evil looks, since they're not really a true band. It's just two guitarists, a drummer, and a vocalist. But… they kinda sucked. Probably cause Fang thinks he can sing and he… well… can't. One time they tried "screamo" music and it sounded like scarecrows getting high. Yeah. Pretty bad.

Fang opened the door for me to Mrs. Watts's room, my eyes finding my seat, and just as I headed towards it, I noticed the person sitting behind it.

"Austin Powers?" My jaw dropped as Sam nodded vigorously, the fake brown afro flopping back and forth. And I can clearly remember watching the movie when I was ten, Austin Powers never had an afro. And he was never in my "favorite movie" list. Ever. Well, neither was Sam. So, I guess they both had something in common.

"Oh. My. God." A girl named Shayna that sat behind Fang walked in and stopped dead in her tracks.

Yeah. It was that bad.

"Do you want to see me dance?" He asked all-to eagerly.

"NO!" Everyone shouted quickly and turned back to what they were doing to not look at him.

Yeah. It was _that_ bad.

"Yeah! I went on your MySpace and looked at your favorite movies, and this was the only one with a leading guy in it that you would recognize." I was still frozen to the spot, my eyes overlooking his… do-rags? He was wearing a button-up shirt with huge flower prints all over it and a velvet vest over it, oversized brown corduroys, and then sandals with giant peace signs on the straps.

It was like the generic Austin Powers, all rolled into one.

"So, what do you think?" Sam grinned up at me, standing up so I could see the door-beads hanging from the back of his vest.

"Uh…" I was utterly speechless, not sure whether to run away or bust out laughing. But both of those options would ruin my plan, which was to make Sam think that I had a crush on him, so I instead went with, "That looks… great, Sam. Really awesome." His face lit up from my fake approval and I had to bite my tongue from laughing at the poor boy. I think my tongue was going to become any second now, from "Teeth" and then this… generic Austin Powers.

Taking my seat finally, Sam stayed close to me, waving his arms around to show the giant flower prints off, "Isn't it…" He cleared his throat, "_Groovy_, baby?" He was like a lovesick puppy. A greatly annoying, whining, needy lovesick puppy at that. I can't even remember why I had gone out with him in the first place. And once he had cheated on me with that bitch-faced… my fingers snapped the pencil I was holding in two.

Fang quirked an eyebrow, looking from the dismembered pencil to me.

"God, Max, I know that you're dreaming about me, but I didn't think I was _that _good looking." He chuckled as I threw the pencil bits at his head,

"You wish."

He shook his head, still smirking, "Ah, no, my dear. That would be your job." I crossed my arms and faced the whiteboard at the front of the classroom. Turning in his seat, Fang leaned over and whispered,

"Remember, Max? You 'looooooooovvvvvveeee' me."

I growled, raising my hand to smack him as Mrs. Watts chirped up, "Miss Ride, please keep your hands to yourself." Fang stuck out his tongue, thinking he had won. "You are so dead" I mouthed as Mrs. Watts set down her purse and clapped her hands together to grab the class's attention.

"All right, students, we're going to be off of the subject of John Steinbeck for a week or so." The class shifted, not cheering yet, because the alternative might be much worse.

"We're going to study Benedict Arnold, who is known as one of the greatest traitors in America's history. I've looked into some college classes, and almost eighty-five percent of you will study him. So," Mrs. Watts plastered a heavy smile on her face as she grabbed her attendance book, "Get some paper out and be ready to take notes." Fang suddenly nudged my elbow, holding up his paper that read "BORING" in bold print. I smiled, nodding in agreement before sliding out some loose-leaf paper out of my binder. Another nudge on my elbow, and I glanced over to see "I loooooooooooovvveee you too." My heart swelled, immediately forgiving him for getting me into trouble as I saw a tiny lush creep across his face.

Then there was that same irritating tap on my shoulder. Again.

"Hey, Max," Sam spoke quietly to me, "Doesn't that sound cool? I mean, he's one of the greatest traitors in history. Isn't that awesome?" Luckily, his dorkiness wasn't rubbing off on me, so I could come up with,

"Not really. It sounds pretty boring to me." Sam just nodded, accepting my opinion as if it meant something to him. Probably did. Poor kid.

AN: **I do not own: Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.**

**Blech. And I would never, anyway, since that's the book we have to read for English 10-Honors.**

**Anyway, Uptown Girls is my favorite movie, so I figured I would have Max dress up as her.**


	4. Fang the Superstar

The next day, which was Pink Day, Nudge and Angel came running into my room as I was slipping on some pink capris.

"Max!" They busted through the door which caught me by surprise, which ended with me on the floor with the capris only hallway up my legs. "Sorry, but I have to borrow some pink eye shadow. I'm out," Nudge explained before disappearing into my bathroom. I stood up, my capris around my ankles, as I leaned to grab the remote to turn down my music…

"Max?" A voice spoke from the doorway and I spun myself around, reaching down to grab my capris. Sam's eyes were wide and as I shooed him away and shut my door, I realized that this wasn't going to be the best of days. Cause I just _had_ to wear a thong.

**Later…**

I was really having a bad day now. First, Sam sees my ass, and second, Fang wouldn't come out of his room. God. These boys were driving me crazy. No, scratch that, not even crazy! They were sending me to the funny house. Seriously. I might as well have the place on speed dial or something.

"Fang," I tried for the hundredth time, "I'm sure you look fine. Now quit worrying and come out here."

"But you don't understand! I can't go out in public!" Fang whined behind the door and I resisted calling him a pansy. Rolling my eyes, I stepped back and attempted to kick down the door. Once my foot hit the wood, Fang yelped and then cracked open the door. _Finally_.

"All right. You can come in. But no one hears of this, okay?" Instead of answering, I barged in, slamming the door behind me, and was about to scold him for making us be late for class… "I told you!" Fang exclaimed, stomping around his room like a three-year old. My words were caught in my mouth as everything snapped into place.

My poor Fang was dressed in pink boxers and a pink shirt that read "Superstar" in glittery rhinestones. To top it off, the very edges of his black hair were dripped in hot pink hair dye.

"Oh, my God," I covered my mouth to keep from laughing at my boyfriend, and I managed to see the pink bunny slippers on the floor behind him.

"Yeah. Iggy," Fang fumed, stalking over to rip open his closet doors, where only empty hangers hung from the pole. Not even Fang's shoes were given mercy, the usual sneakers nowhere to be found. "Every last thing. No towels, socks, blankets…" He growled and slammed the closet back, crossing his arms as he stood in front of me. I couldn't help but notice how his arms flexed, his muscles almost ripping the way-too-tight shirt to pieces. "… and I had trusted him, just rolling back over to go to sleep. He told me he was just using my bathroom, since Gazzy ruined his. But no, he decides to fuck with all of my stuff and try to humiliate the crap out of me!"

I smiled, biting my lip still, and wrapped my arms around him. "Oh, come on, Fang. You look okay. Let's just get to class."

"Looking like this?" Fang pointed to his boxer-clad legs, "I don't have any pants on!"

"Tug them down a bit so they look like shorts." Fang growled, his eyes narrowing, as he did so. I had to admit, I liked Fang with only boxers on. Even if they were pink with little hearts all over them.

"How about borrowing some pants from your friends? Or Iggy?"

"Iggy's door is locked. And all of my friends lock their doors when they leave in the morning. And they're all gone!"

I shrugged, "Well, it's either the boxers or get suspended for fifteen days and get thrown off campus."

Fang snorted, "And leave you with Sam? Alone? For fifteen days? I would rather… I don't know. But I can't have that. Who knows what he'd do to you." I rolled my eyes, opening his bedroom door and pushing him outside into the hallway.

"All right, then, Superstar. Just suck it up," I quietly shut his door and then whispered into his ear,

"Besides, I _like_ those boxers on you."

His eyebrows shot up and he smirked, "Figured so. You know you can't take your eyes off of my awesome body." I said nothing, walking ahead of him, as I swayed my hips from side to side a bit. Soon, his hands were on my stomach, tugging me back into his torso.

I turned in his arms, pressing his back against a door, and kissed him.

"Max! Hey! What are you doing out…"

"Damn it, Sam!" Fang groaned, pushing me to his side to yell at our interrupter. But before things could get out of hand, I placed my hand against Fang's back and pushed him forward, leaving Sam behind to loathe. "I swear… he ruins everything! The first day of school, first period, gym, us just having a simple kiss before class-"

"And him barging into my room and checking out my as…" I swallowed, watching as Fang's face grew from furious to… well, another word for worse than furious. Rampant? Irate? No, it was just purely Fang's "I want to really, really, really, _really_ kill Sam _now_" face. "Fang… forget it. Let's get to class."

He didn't move, his jaw twitching.

"_Now_, Fang," I commanded and his eyes flashed down to mine finally, and obliged.

"Fine. But the next time I see that kid…"

**Later…**

I was walking across the soccer field to get to gym class as my name was called. "What now? Come to check out my breasts?" I snapped at who else? Yep. Sam.

_Again_.

He looked a bit hurt, as he muttered, "No, actually, I just wanted to say that I was sorry. For everything. It's just… I really don't remember anything from back in Virginia. And I'm really sorry if I cheated on you with… whoever. But I wanted to take a second chance. But now you have Fang… and you're great together and everything. But… I miss you, Max. I remember our first date!" His face broke out into a giant smile, gripping at his gym bag tighter. "But just know that this morning was a total accident. Both of them. I mean… I was just going to ask you what I should wear for Spirit Day, and then the second time… I just needed to go to the bathroom. And you hadn't come in to Mrs. Watts's room so I was afraid you might… I dunno. Sick or mad or something. So… yeah."

He paused for a moment and I overlooked the situation. If he really was telling the truth, there should be no reason not to just give him a second chance. Not that I was going to go out with him or like him or anything, but I shouldn't be so rude and evil to him. Not _all_ the time, at least. And if he was lying, and he could remember everything, I would just kick his ass all the way back to the School, and they could mess with his DNA again.

Oh, yeah! Speaking of DNA…

"So, Sam, I've been wondering about this…" I glanced around to see if anyone was around (to, ya know, act like I cared if someone overheard), "What did the School do to you?"

He froze for a moment, his eyes wide, and then he whispered, "They messed with my DNA… and I came out able to breathe underwater and I can teleport."

"Well, that's pretty cool, I guess. I mean, all I can do is fly really fast. I mean, my powers kinda suck."

We both chuckled. The kind that you are forced to do, when nothing is really funny, but you want to play it off like it is, and then switch to another subject.

"So… we should get to class, right? Otherwise loud coach guy will be pissed," I half-smiled and we walked together to the gym in silence.

See? Works every time.

**The next day…**

"Okay… what about this?" Sam held up an outfit on my computer screen as I rummaged through my closet to find my "Spirit Day" attire. So far, I had orange Soffes, a black cami, and then an orange T-shirt with fabric paint reading "Hardin Valley High #17," which was Iggy's number in football. Yeah, the blind kid plays football. Who knew? And he plays a mean defense. I guess Iggy is like… disabled Superman or something. And yeah, "Hardin Valley" is the alternate name for our school, since "Lerner's School" doesn't sound so kickass, now does it? Hearing cheerleaders scream "GO LERNER'S!" at our games was getting quite… peculiar. So, they changed it two years ago. And it's funny, because there isn't any valleys around Florida, especially near the friggin _beach_.

So, Hardin Valley Wolverines we were christened. "Well, Max, what do you think?" Sam brought my attention back to the real world, where I was tugging my hair into a ponytail and putting on orange eye shadow.

"Sure. That looks great!" I faked enthusiasm, not even glancing at what he was holding up. The only good thing about this was that Sam couldn't tell what I was wearing (since I was always out of my web-camera's range) so he wouldn't figure out that this was all a huge joke.

What?

Don't look at me like that. Remember, the boy cheated on me. I have to get _some_ good payback! And since it's kind of hard to get a truckload of zebras to Palm Beach, Florida, this was the best I had. For the moment.

"Sweet! I'll go put it on and meet you in the hallway!" I was about to object when my web-cam clicked back to my desktop screen, showing that Sam had logged off. Slipping on some black flip-flops, I grabbed my English books and met Fang in the hallway.

"What are you so happy about?" Fang questioned, giving me a weird stare as he came out of his room.

"Huh?"

"Your happiness. It's…" Fang gripped his chest, faking a strangled breath, "It's… killing me…. Oh, Max…" Fang fell onto his knees and sobered up, "Anyway, I just wanted to know why you're so-" his words were caught in his mouth, as none other than Mr. She his/herself walked right into our hallway. Samuel Brown was wearing a shiny, red snakeskin skirt, black wedge heels, a push-up bra, a black tube top, and makeup.

Me: "Oh. My. God."

Sam: "Don't you love it? I think I've got spirit, don't you?"

Fang: "What…..the… hell?"


	5. Max's Got Talent!

**AN: Remember: Emma and Iggy have that special thing where the text messages are read aloud to them both. And in the middle of the class, they can turn down the volume and sneak and listen to them.**

As we were taking notes in Algebra class, the principal, Mr. Kruthers, came over the intercom, "Good morning Hardin Valley students! Today is October 7th, 2010. Now for the morning announcements-" After hearing the date to put on the top of my paper, I continued to scribble down the parabola equation, until Emma poked me on the arm.

"Hey, do you think Iggy and the band are going to play for the school's talent show?"

My silence made her chuckle, as she figured I had no idea what she was talking about, and then she explained, "Kruthers just said we're having that annual talent show on October seventeenth. Do you think the band is going to be playing?"

"Not sure. Text Ig and find out. But I figure they would, since they're dying to get a gig."

"What about you, Max, are you gonna sign up for the talent show?" Sam whispered over to me from a row over. I glanced over, shrugged, and went back to my notes. No, most definitely not. Maximum Ride does _not_ sing, on a stage, in front of hundreds of people. That doesn't sound exciting _or _thrilling, just stupid and nerve-wracking. Besides, I can't sing.

At all. Even though Fang has tried to convince me otherwise.

**Later that day…**

As I drove up into my mom's driveway, the familiar sound of guitars being tuned took over my hearing. My mom came outside, Angel in front chewing on a cookie, as my mom yelled, "They heard about the talent show!" I smiled, coming up the porch's steps to give them both a hug.

"How was school, sweetie?" I asked Angel as we entered the living room.

"Awesome! We presented our projects today!" Angel exclaimed as she jumped onto the couch besides Emma and Iggy.

"The Indian one?" Iggy questioned, but before Angel could answer him, Emma interrupted,

"You mean 'Native American'?"

"No," He shook his head, "I mean 'Indian'. They don't like being called 'Native American'."

Emma snorted, "And how would _you_ know?"

"Cause I am one. I'm totally Indian. Can't you tell? With my pale white skin and blonde hair? I'm their homie." They both laughed and Angel rolled her eyes.

"_Anyway_, Max, before I was rudely interrupted," Iggy stuck his tongue out at Angel playfully, "I got a hundred! Isn't that great?"

"Awesome, Ange." I ruffled her hair and then walked to the garage door, the noise and vibrations of the music growing louder as I went. Cracking open the door, I saw Fang strumming his guitar, Nate cursing his, and Jason flipping through a chord book.

"Why isn't Iggy joining this headache?" I motioned to the empty set of drums as Fang looked up, silencing his guitar.

"One of the drums is dented. Makes a burping sound when you hit it."

"Ah. I see. So, what song are you guys doing?"

"Remember that band Breaking Benjamin from, like, five years ago?" I nodded, "We're doing their song 'Breath'."

"Hmm. Cool." I watched the guys for another moment, before closing the door and venturing into the kitchen.

"So, what about you, Max?" My mom looked over her coffee mug at me, "Are you going to do anything for the show?"

"Have I ever?" I quirked up an eyebrow at her and took a seat at the kitchen table. As I stuffed two cookies into my mouth, Fang jogged into the room, grabbed two Cokes from the fridge, and was handing me one when my mom spoke again.

"Well, it's senior year. You never know. You just might want to. I mean, you'll never get another chance."

"To do what?" Fang turned to both of us, a confused look on his face.

"Do something for the talent show."

He snorted and I resisted punching him, "She doesn't think she can sing. Which I personally think is totally wrong. She's got a great voice, but she's too self-conscious to do anything with it." Okay, _now_ I could punch him. "Ouch! What was that for?"

I gritted my teeth to keep the foul words down, "You know why! I am not '_self-conscious_'! I just don't want to rehearse and waste my time."

Fang shrugged, "Fine. But I think you have a good voice." My mom's face lit up and I began mentally pleading that she wouldn't open her mouth and share her thoughts.

"You know what I'm thinking, Fang-" Nope. Of course. Thanks, Mom. "-is that Max can't stand to lose a bet. So…" Oh, no. She wouldn't do that to me, would she? Please, please, plea-

Fang turned to face me, a smirk on his face, "Yeah, Max, I bet that you can't win that talent show. But, who cares? You're not even brave enough to stand on a wooden stage and sing a three-minute song." He was smug now, knowing that his challenge would get to me. But nope, not this time. I wasn't giving into his stupid, childish games. Nooooo way. And then he would be the one-

I slammed my chair back to stand up and I shoved his shoulder roughly, "I don't think so! There is no way that I'm scared! I'll show you, Fang Williams. And when I blow everyone away with my talent, you will be begging for forgiveness!" So much for self-control.

"All right, then, Max. Better get crackin', though. The show's only ten days away." Fang grinned wider and then walked out of the room, grabbing three of my cookies as he went. _My_ cookies. I growled, punching my fist against the kitchen counter.

Stupid Fang. I wish he didn't know me so well. Otherwise I wouldn't have to stand up on a huge stage and sing my heart out and be _criticized_ about my performance. But still, I had to win now. _Had_ to.

**The Talent Show**

Fang and I stood backstage, watching as performer after performer… well… performed.

"You're gonna lose, you're gonna loooooosssseeee," Fang kept mumbling right into my ear.

"Bite me, Fang," I snapped as I fixed my shirt for the millionth time.

Now he was closer, holding my hand, "Mmmm… that sounds pretty good right about now."

I slapped his chest, shoving him away, and rolling my eyes, "Down, boy."

Fang waggled his eyebrows, leaning in to capture my lips in a sweet ki-

"Hey, Max!"

_Do not let go of Fang. Do not let go of Fang. _I reminded myself mentally as I turned, trying to keep from yelling at poor Sam.

"Hey, Sam. What are you doing back here?"

He blushed, looking the other way for a moment, before responding, "I'm in the show."

"Oh. Well, that's cool. What are you doing?"

He paused for a moment, like he had forgotten or something- maybe this kid just lost his mind gradually by himself or something- and then muttered, "I'm playing the piano and singing a song."

"Oh. Cool. I'm singing a song, too." Then there was that awkward silence, where you wish someone would run through naked or some other distraction to have something to talk about.

What, you've never had those? Hmm. You should sometime. Or find one, and run naked through the people who are _having_ the awkward silences. And of course, there's the fun of holding a very pissed-off, kissing-deprived boyfriend during all of this awkward silence.

"Well, I've got to go get ready. I'll see you later, Max!" Sam grinned and then raced off.

Then Fang's arms were around my waist, pulling me into his chest, "When is that kid going to get over you?"

"I dunno. But let's just let him lust over me."

Fang shrugged, "As long as he doesn't try anything. Or check you out. Or… anything else."

"Mr. Protective are we?"

Suddenly, the eyes I were looking into softened, and his voice dropped to a whisper, "Yes, I am. Cause if anything happened to you…" He stopped there, just simply kissing me on the forehead as Nate and Iggy walked up. Awwww. Seriously. That calls for an "awwwwww," doesn't it?

"Hey, man, we're on in five," Nate informed Fang, and then the other two guys walked away towards the curtain.

"All right, well, break a leg," I smiled and kissed my boyfriend, before sending him off. I stood backstage, watching as other people ran around, putting on makeup and cleaning instruments and singing to themselves. It was like the "Asylum for Washed Out Musicians" or something. And then, through all of the chaos and noise, I heard the announcer boom over everything,

"Next up, Sam Brown!"

The crowd clapped bore-fully as a piano began playing.

"_Wondering the streets, in a world underneath it all  
Nothing seems to be, nothing tastes as sweet  
As what I can't have  
Like you and the way that you're twisting your hair  
Round your finger  
Tonight I'm not afraid to tell you  
What I feel about you_…"

No, no, no, no, no, noooooooo! How could he do this? I thought he was kinda over me. I mean, now he was pouring out his heart in front of a bunch of people…? Oh, God. This was _bad_. My phone vibrated in my pocket, and as I looked down at the screen, Sam's voice grew shaky and it started cracking.

Man… this _was_ bad. Seriously. He sounded like… like… man, there was nothing _this_ bad out there in the world. Erasers? No. Decaffeinated coffee? Nope. _Hannah Montana_? This was much, much worse.

And not to mention my phone reading, "Killing Sam once he gets off stage. No joke. Kid is stupid." From, of course, Fang.

And then one from Iggy, "Sam is obsessssssssedddd! Lol. He's screwed. Fang is hyperventilating over here." Just great. Exactly what I need.

My phone went off again, "Ur gonna be surprised. Fang just changed songs. Like, last second." I decided that I better deal with this myself and headed over to where the guys were standing.

_Find Fang, find Fang, find Fang…_

"Fang!" I shouted, thinking I had seen him, but a stage manager shushed me and I was forced to shove through the crowd on my own, in hopes to catch him to figure out what he was doing, before Echo went on.

"And next up, the band Echo, featuring Iggy Palacios, Nate Winchester, Jason Hawes, and Fang Williams!" Shit. I groaned, running over to the entrance to the stage, where I could see the guys slipping on their guitars. The curtain lifted, and the guitars started off.

"Hey, Max! Did you like my song?" Great, Sam. Just the time to come and annoy the hell out of me. I can't stop being nice to the kid all the time. Especially _now_.

"_I judge by what she's wearing  
Just how many heads I'm tearing  
Off of assholes coming on to her  
Each night seems like it's getting worse  
And I wish she'd take the night off  
So I don't have to fight off  
Every asshole coming on to her_…"

I almost laughed. _Almost_.

And then I remembered that Sam would probably dead after this song. Either dead or be missing his fifth limb, if you catch my drift. "Max!" Sam waved a hand in front of my face, but I was so overcome with amazement at Echo. They were… awesome! Seriously. I bet they could get a record deal. And Fang was actually… singing well! Eh, who am I kidding? Fang looked drop-dead sexy, up there screaming into the microphone, his hair unruly, and the black shirt he was wearing flexing around his muscles… "Max? Did you hear my song?"

"Yeah…" I answered a bit dazed.

"Did you like it?"

"_Is that your hand on my girlfriend?  
Is that your hand?  
I wish you'd do it again  
I'll watch you leave here limping  
I wish you'd do it again  
I'll watch you leave here limping  
There goes the next contestant_…"

"Mmmhmmm."

"Good. Cause… you're not going to believe this, but I wrote it for you!"

"Great, Sam. Go enjoy yourself."

"What?"

"Go… have fun. I'll stay here. Watch…" God, I couldn't even form coherent sentences! Who knew Fang singing a rock song could do this to me? I just hope he never found out, otherwise he would be dragging around a karaoke machine everywhere we went. Nate and Jason were basically "rocking out" on their guitars, the bass thumping at my feet, to where I could feel the wall beside me vibrating.

"Max! You've got to listen to me! I need to tell you something important!"

"SAM! WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP FOR ONE DAMN SECOND?" I snapped, eyes narrowed, as I spun on my heel to shove him away. The look on his face made me think of some excuse for acting like that, "I have to go on right after Echo. Will you _please_ just tell me later?" He nodded, backing away slowly, and then he was gone, mixed within the crowd of backstagers.

"_I wish you'd do it again  
Each night seems like it's getting worse  
I wish you'd do it again  
This time somebody's getting hurt  
There goes the next contestant_."

The guitars stopped suddenly, Iggy slamming his stick down on the drums one last time before the lights shut off and everything was dark. And then all I could hear was screaming, people whistling, and everyone else clapping wildly. God, they really had blown everyone away. How could I ever beat that? And I bet Fang was going to come back here and rub it in my face… wait! Evil idea!

As soon as Fang walked up, his face was still pissed, but he couldn't hide his smirk, "I think we won."

"Mmm… I don't really care at the moment," And then I leaned in, wrapping my arms around his neck. He pulled back, smiling down at me, and leaned down for a kiss. And then, suddenly, he had me against the wall and was tracing his tongue along my bottom lip.

"Next up is Max Ride-"

"Fang, I have to go!" I broke away as I congratulated Iggy and the rest and then ran up to the stage, still in complete darkness. And then, suddenly, the curtain was drawing apart, and the music started from all around me.

_I should have practiced more. I should have wiped off the sweat on my hands and made sure Fang didn't ruin my makeup… oh, great. They're all going to think I suck and-_

And suddenly, my foot was tapping to the beat, before I opened my mouth and sang into the microphone,

"_Friday night beneath the stars  
In the field behind your yard  
You and I are painting pictures in the sky  
And sometimes we don't say a thing  
Just listen to the crickets sing  
Everything I need is right here by my side_

_And I know everything about you  
I don't wanna live without you…"_

Ha, ha! I was totally doing it! SWEET! And from what I could tell, I sounded really great! Holy crap!

I switched my position, gripping the microphone stand with two hands, and singing out again.

The music slowed down a bit, as I paused to actually take a deep breath and get myself together. At that point, I actually looked at the crowd, and none of them looked like they were about to hurl tomatoes at me. So… that was good.

And I actually looked back for a second, seeing Iggy giving me a thumbs-up song, and I almost laughed.

Almost.

But I didn't, and continued singing, to- hopefully-win this competition. And then rub it in Fang's face.

"_When I'm with anybody else  
It's so hard to be myself  
And only you can tell_

_I'm only up when you're not down  
Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground  
It's like no matter what I do  
Well you drive me crazy half the time  
The other half I'm only trying to  
Let you know that what I feel is true  
And I'm only me when I'm with you_…"

**Songs used:**

**Sam: "For You I Will" by Teddy Geiger**

**Echo: "Next Contestant" by Nickelback**

**Max: "I'm Only Me When I'm With You" by Taylor Swift**


	6. Choking On Words

A huge line of contestants, thirty in all, were standing on the stage, the harsh lights glaring down at us.

And I was included in that line. The number pinned to my shirt read "Contestant 23" in huge letters. The guy beside me was trembling, watching as our announcer guy- he was some old celebrity nobody had seen in twenty years- Ricky Martin- strolled across the stage, to the front of the line.

"Ladies and gentleman, I am pleased to announce we have finally chosen the Hardin Valley High Talent Show winner!" There was a bit of applause, but mostly everyone was stretching and fidgeting in their seats, waiting to see who it would be.

"I will now eliminate the contestants down to five people," Ricky cleared his throat before pointing at the head of the line,

"Contestants number one, three, four, five…" And he went on and on; the people who weren't chosen squealing and jumping up and down, the ones who were chosen stalked off stage, shoulders sagging.

Echo- who all had the same number since they were together- was saved and all the guys did that "bro hug." Ya know, where the guys kind-of hug and slap each others' backs? Yeah. That one. Finally, Ricky reached near the end, where he clearly spoke, "Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-four…"

My insides relaxed noticeably and I could feel the tension creeping out of my spine. Thank God. I mean, it's not like winning this thing meant a lot to me, but I needed to beat Fang. If I did… I dunno what would happen. But it would be really, really, _really_ great to rub in his face, cause I'm just that nice to my boyfriend. Hint the sarcasm, people?

Ricky finally eliminated the last person, and we all bunched in together, eagerness claiming every single one of us. "All right, contestants, I will now let the audience choose! Now, audience, pull out those keypads in front of you, and choose five names." Then there was that annoying music, like the Jeopardy tune, as we five contestants trembled with anticipation. After what seemed almost forever- which was probably only about two minutes- Ricky Martin kind of… _hoorayed_… into his microphone and then edged closer to our group.

"Congratulations, Samuel Brown, you have won fifth place!"

_WHAT?_

_ARE THEY CRAZY!_

I glanced down the line, finding Fang's eyes, and I sent him a look that said exactly what I was thinking, "_Who the fuck would vote for him? He sounded like crap!_" I mean, how did he even get into the final five? Maybe someone was trippin on acid out in that audience or something. Fang nodded, eyes narrowing as Sam stepped forward to claim his prize- a small trophy and a gift card for some store.

"And fourth place goes to… Whitney Descent," The crowd applauded and her friends shouted and hurrahed. Now there was only three choices for the winner: Echo, some white kid who could _actually_ rap, and me.

Oh, boy.

"Third place goes to… C-Weezy!" The crowd went wild and "C-Weezy" bowed, collected his prizes, and stood off to the side as Echo and I collided together.

Ricky Martin shook his head, grinning like an idiot, as his voice boomed,

"The final two contestants…. Which one will receive the first place title?" Fang glanced over at me and gave me that smirk that said "I'm going to win and rub it in your face so badly." I resisted shooting him the bird. Before I could pounce on him, Ricky cleared his throat and announced,

"The second place winner goes to…"

It better be Fang. It better be Fang. It better _DAMN SURE_ be FANG! My insides seemed to be having their own World War III as Ricky ended with, "Max Ride! Congratulations, Max!"

I think I was supposed to collect something at the side of the stage, but I kind of just stood there. I was… dazed? Confused? I'm not really sure what I felt at that moment.

But it wasn't because of Echo winning- well, not all of it- but mostly because at the exact second Ricky Martin told me I didn't win, something else happened. Something much more… terrifying? Earth-shattering?

No. It was more like my whole world had caved in and shot down every thought I had.

"Max?" Ricky asked me, his voice sounding like he was talking through a pillow.

Almost a millisecond later, Fang's voice was near my ear, a hand on my shoulder, "Max?"

And suddenly, I was snapped back into the real world: the lights glaring, Fang's warm hand, the audience silent, the confetti that had fallen when Ricky had made it clear that Echo had won was now all over the floor… "Are you okay?" Fang questioned as the curtain behind us rose and revealed Echo's band equipment.

"Well, ladies and gentleman," Ricky sounded a little odd, "I present to you: Echo!"

The crowd went wild, and I kind of just… walked off stage with my ears filled with the first lines of the song,

"_Looking back at the beginning of this  
And how life was  
Just you and me and love and all of our friends  
Living life like an ocean…_"

There was no possible way… no. That couldn't happen. I had been told the exact same. But why was…? Sam ran into me backstage, as I made my way to my dressing room to collect my things.

"Hey, Max, why did you freeze up there? At least you made second place! That's awesome! I only made fifth…" He kept on talking as I grabbed my cell phone and jacket and walked out into the school's auditorium hallway. Some people were coming out now, ready to get to somewhere else, and Echo's song blasted loudly as the door was opened,

"_It's not my time  
I'm not going  
There's a fear in me  
It's not showing  
This could be the end of me  
And everything I know  
Oh, I won't go…_"

"Max? Hey, you did great out there! You totally should have beat Iggy and them!" Nudge greeted me, as Angel wrapped her arms around my waist.

_Anything wrong, Max?_ Angel's voice appeared in my mind and I flinched, quickly blocking my mind as she narrowed her eyes up at me.

"No, sweetie, I just kind of… dazed out. It's nothing. I guess I was just… mad and happy and… excited all at the same time." Angel just blinked, telling me that she didn't believe my lie. But the rest of the Flock did, as they just dropped the subject, and walked with me back to the dorms. Nudge and Angel left to go change in their room, Gazzy following me down to Iggy's room before I was left all alone.

And even though I was more than three hundred feet away, I could still hear the song that I was beginning to relate to,

"_I look ahead to all the plans that we made  
And the dreams that we had  
I'm in a world that tries to take them away  
Oh, but I'm taking them back  
All this time I've just been to blind to understand  
What should matter to me…_"

I shut my door, collapsing onto my bed, as the lights from outside- car headlights and the moon- danced on my ceiling and across my floor. Was that possible? After all these years…?

I think I fell asleep then, too stressed and confused to go on with the after-party they were having after Echo finished. Fang must have told them to leave me alone, because the only person in my room the next morning was him, lying beside me.

I looked over his features, watching his even breathing, his jaw twitch every so often, his hair rustle when my air conditioning came on- it being the middle of October, it was still a bit hot down here in Florida. And as I did this, I wondered whether or not I should tell him. I mean, if I did, then he could give me some advice and help me out with what it meant.

If I didn't though, he wouldn't have to wonder whether I was crazy or if something horrible was going to happen, which would mean he would stick to me like super-glue. Which was driving me crazy enough with Sam being there. But soon, Fang awoke, yawning- which sent his icky morning breath right into my face- and blinking his eyes open to find me in them.

"Morning, gorgeous," He grinned and held onto me tighter, his arms having been around me the whole night apparently, "You feeling okay today?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" I figured I would play it innocent until Fang found out that something was terribly wrong. Which, he always did, so I shouldn't have to wait long.

"Well, cause of what happened on stage yesterday." He looked into my eyes, waiting for me to supply some kind of excuse as to why I did, but I didn't.

I didn't talk because I really didn't have an excuse. I mean, I did, but blurting it out like that would have made it even worse. He would have wanted to know why I hadn't told him right then and there, on the stage…. "Okay… so… what happened?" Fang drew the words out, drawing a hand up to move some hair from my face to the rest of my tangled locks.

"You're not going to believe me."

His eyes barely widened, "Why not?"

"Cause… you won't. I'm not even sure it was real."

He sighed, moving closer to pull me to his chest, "Max, just go ahead and tell me what happened. I'm sure it's nothing really huge. You're just overreacti-"

I held up a finger to his lips, shushing him, and blurted out,

"Yesterday, when that Ricky guy told me I had won second place, I was kind of pissed, so I looked at the back of the auditorium to avoid anyone's stare. And there, along the back wall, behind the sound booth, was Jeb. He smiled at me and then disappeared into the shadows of the booth."

"Did he tell you anything?" Fang whispered, understanding that this wasn't a joke. And that, after everything that had happened to us in our lives, Jeb coming back wasn't that quite of a shocker. To Fang, at least. I have to admit that I was pretty jostled.

I shook my head.

"Well, maybe it was just you seeing things. I mean, Nudge and Gazzy swear they have seen a couple times too, but it ends up being nothing."

"Have you?" My voice cracked a bit on the words and I was even more angry with myself. Maximum Ride wasn't supposed to choke on her own words.

Fang was quiet for a couple moments, the sounds of people passing by in the hallway filled the silence until he spoke, "Yeah. Once. During track practice last year, I thought I saw him underneath the bleachers. But it was nothing." I smiled- a fake one- but he seemed to believe it and kissed my forehead softly, "So, how'd you like me winning the talent show?"

I shoved him out of my bed, a loud thump sounding as he hit the floor, "Shut up or I'll personally kick you out of my room forever."

"Aw, come on. You wouldn't want to do that," Fang sarcastically pouted as I stood up to face him.

I snorted, "Sure, Fang. If you say so. But right now, I need to take a shower. I still have that stupid hairspray in my hair from last night." I ran a hand through my hair, feeling my fingers being incased in a substance. "Blech. My hair is sticky."

"I just came," Fang laughed and I kicked his butt- literally- into the hallway, slamming the door behind him.

"I'll see you later. I've got to go find out if Iggy got out of that tree he climbed in last night!" Fang yelled through the door before I heard the shower turn on in his room, which was on the other side of mine. I rolled my eyes at his perverted-ness and climbed into my own shower.

Iggy in a tree? Well, that would be one hell of a story. And if it included Fang, I'm pretty sure it included some drink that had been spiked.

_It might be more than you believe  
It might be something you can't see  
It's not my time  
I'm not going  
There's a fear in me  
It's not showing  
This could be the end of me  
And everything I know…_

"**It's Not My Time" by 3 Doors Down**


	7. The Madeup Breakup

**Oh, and if you're wondering what happened to Iggy and that tree, you're going to have to wait. It won't be explained until later.**

**Got it? Good.**

**On with the chappie, mijn vrienden die met dit verhaal worden geobsedeerd. (That's Dutch. Google it and you'll find out what it means)**

We've all been shopping, right? Just a simple go-stroll-through-the-mall-and-be-happy-when-you-see-a-sale-at-PacSun-type shopping trip, right?

Yeah. Mine was far beyond any means of "calm" or "normal." Nudge and Emma had so far dragged me from Belk, JCPenney's, David's Bridal (I had freaked out at the name at first, but then found out they did, in fact, sell _regular_ dresses), some store called Faviana, Classy Lady, Nordstrom, and Macy's.

Yeah. Seriously. And still, I hadn't found the "perfect dress." It was only winter formal. And I had seen hundreds of gorgeous ones and tried them all on, but Nudge claimed "they just aren't you." Okkkkkkayyyyyy. And unfortunately, Emma had to be agreeing with her, which I didn't quite understand cause she's _blind_.

"How do you know if they're right for me or not, Em?" I asked her as we drove out of the mall's parking lot, Emma's winter formal dress swinging from a hook in the back.

Emma paused for a moment next to me, her text message half typed out, until she explained,

"I'm not sure. But once I felt the fabric and style of the dress, I knew it just wasn't you. And since Nudge was there to help me out by describing it to me," She paused again to squeeze my hand that was on the radio dial, "Don't worry, Max. We'll find the perfect one."

And then, suddenly, she was gone before my very eyes, as if she had never been there. The seatbelt that had been around her was still snapped in, her cell phone still hanging in mid-air. Soon enough, I heard the police sirens too, and watched as an ambulance and two police cars zoomed past and out of sight.

"All clear," Nudge spoke from the back and Emma appeared again, pressing the numbers on her cell phone as she continued to text.

Emma has a strange fear of police cars ever since she was little. She thought it had something to do with the fact that when she was taken to the School- another one located in Wisconsin that we'd already annihilated- by a police car. And all that she can remember before the School was the sound of a police siren.

Emma has cat-like senses, explaining why she heard the siren before any of us did (even with our uber-hearing) and she can turn invisible. The funny part is that sometimes, since she's blind, she forgets if she's invisible or not, and she gives the new kids quite a scare opening doors and fixing sandwiches.

But her powers sure come in use around Halloween, when she gets to play the ghost, and chase kids down Lerner's driveway.

"Hey, there it is!" Nudge exclaimed as I pulled into a small strip-mall. They both climbed out quickly, pulling me out of the comfort of my own seat, and shoved me into the double doors covered in sequins.

**The Next Day…**

In gym, we were given the chance to sit around and do something to busy ourselves. I think the two instructors were having sex in Coach Dany's office, but that was just my guess. Emma and I were sitting out on the football field, watching (well, I was) Iggy scrimmage with Fang, Nate, and the other guys.

"They have to be. I mean, seriously, have you seen the looks they give each other?" Once I asked the question, I chuckled at my stupidity.

"Of course, Max! The blind chick has seen the seductive looks the gym teachers give each other!" Emma laughed, throwing her black hair away from her shoulder. Emma Nelson was a mix of Asian and Spanish, with straight black hair and sightless violet eyes. I was kind of jealous. _Violet_ eyes? That's just freaking awesome.

She kinda reminded me of Ella, except Emma was older, and her skin wasn't as dark as Ella's. And she was much more mature than my little sister. Thank God, because Iggy needed someone who was calm and collected, him being Mr. Psycho half of the time. "Uh-oh. I smell trouble," Emma nudged me, nodding her head over to the track that ran around the football field. Sure enough, Sam Brown was making his way towards us, a huge goofy smile on his face and his fingers moving sporadically.

I didn't ask Emma how she had known, because I had learned long ago that she could sense someone's footfalls within a hundred feet away.

"Hey, Max," Sam greeted as he finally reached us. I nodded, bringing my eyes away from Sam to the football field, watching the guys continue to play. He dropped down next to me, stretching out his legs, as he watched my face. Just a bit creepy… "So… uh… what are you doing for Winter Formal?" He questioned and I felt my stomach drop.

He wasn't…? I looked over to Emma, who felt my glance, and she smirked. Yeah. He was. Damn him, making this share-every-single-class-together thing even harder.

"Partying. You?" I looked over towards my personal stalker and regretted it. He started batting his eyelashes. What a weirdo…

Who did he get dating tips from? Richard Simmons? Oh, right. He cheated on me with Lissa. Must have gotten tips from her. That stupid, snobby, lying, prissy, gold digging son of a bitc-

"So who are you going with?" Seriously, Sam, quit it with the eyelashes. That's just plain creepy.

"Uhhh… I'm going with Fan-"

"Sweet! So… will you go with me?" Uhhh… didn't I just say I was going with Fang? And did he just rudely interrupt (ahem) _the _Maximum Ride? Was this kid suicidal or something? Or wishing for someone to pummel the crap out of him?

I caught Fang's eye on the football field and he raised an eyebrow, pointing his finger at Sam, and mouthing, "What does he want?"

I just smirked and turned my attention back on Sam, "Of course, Sam. I'd love to go with you." Lie number one.

He fell back, eyes wide with amazement, "Seriously? But aren't you going with-"

"No, he said it would be okay." Lie number two. And guess what Sam did? He friggin _BOUGHT_ my excuse!

"Sweet, Max! I know we'll have an awesome time."

"Mmm… I think so too, Sam." Lie number three. God, this kid was so easily fooled.

"Okay. Well… uh… great. I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow then. See ya!" Sam ran off then, giving Emma the perfect chance to smack me over the head if she desired to. And which she did.

"Ouch! What was that for?" I played innocent, rubbing my head (even though she couldn't see it, which in that case was kind of pointless).

"You know damn well what that was for! What the hell are you thinking, going to formal with Sam? Are you high?" She grabbed my chin and pulled it close to her face. "Open your mouth and breathe."

"Why?"

"Alcohol test. I want to make sure you haven't overdosed on Vodka or something." I shrugged, breathing into her face, and she wrinkled her nose, "Ick. Nope. No alcohol. But you do require some mint gum or something." I rolled my eyes, then finding it useless, punched her lightly on the arm.

"Shut up. And do I want to know how you can check for drunk people?"

She laughed, glancing over in my direction so we could have some sort of eye contact- and she wasn't too far off either- and simply said, "Iggy." Ahhh. No need to emphasize on that one.

By the time we had finished discussing my plans for Sam, (What? You think I was gonna tell you now? _Nooo_. You get to sit back and enjoy the show just like Fang), Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome had made his way over to where we sat and crouched down in front of me.

"What was that about?"

"Sam's going with me to the winter formal."

Fang's face is like a rainbow sometimes, with as many colors as it changed in that one split second of silence. Until it turned just about black as he busted out, "WHAT THE _HELL_ DID YOU JUST SAY?"

"Williams!" Coach Dany shouted from across the football field. And Fang didn't even apologize, which he usually does to not get Dany on his ass, as he narrowed his eyes at me.

"What are you thinking, Max? Are you psycho? Why would you want to go with him? Are you going back out or something? Are you insane? What did he do to you? Did he hypnotize you or something? Have you been drinking?" I smirked at the question.

Fang looked over to Emma, "Did Sam replace her or something? Is this Max II? Did you feed her crack? Did you fill her system with alcohol?"

Emma hid her smirk, simply shaking her head, and answering, "No, Fang, he _didn't_ replace her. This _isn't_ Max II. I _didn't_ feed her crack. And I did _not_ get her drunk."

Fang was silent for a moment, blinking once, until he turned his attention back towards me, "Then _what_ the _hell_ is wrong with you? Why are you going with _Sam_ to the dance? Are you nuts? Why are you doing this to me?"

I just shrugged, biting my bottom lip as if I was holding back something terribly life-changing. Which, I kinda was if you thought about it, but it wasn't my whole big scheme with Sam. It was a charming little scheme to get Fang to kick his butt without getting in trouble, Sam to get in trouble and cry, and me to feel totally awesome. Nice, huh? "What is it, Max? What did he say to you?"

I love it how Fang caught on so well. Otherwise, this wouldn't have worked at all. I turned my head away, looking the other direction, and said quietly, "Nothing, Fang. Don't worry about me."

He, he, he. Fang, you are _so_ in trouble. I know you too well. If there is one thing that Fang didn't understand or like, it was that if told him to not care or worry about me. Yeah. I don't know either. He just gets really hyped up about it.

"Max, tell me. Right now. What did Sam say to you? Because if he did anything to…" He slowed down for a moment and I heard the bell ring in the distance. Three-thirty. Time to leave.

"Did he threaten you, Max?" His voice was soft, but I could see his eyes tensing and his jaw tightening. I looked into the chocolate irises, where I could see my pitiful-looking reflection, and simply muttered, "Yes."

"What did he say?" He turned to Emma this time and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I didn't hear him say anything besides about the dance." Which got Fang confused, because Emma could hear a blade of grass blow three miles away.

"Max, what did he say to you?"

I shook my head, tears slipping out of my eyes, "I ca- can't tell you, Fang."

"Why not?"

"Cause… he threatened to… kill the Flock…" I caught Fang just before he could jump up, and I whispered, "Fang, don't. Not yet. Just wait until tomorrow morning. Then you can kick his ass."

"Why wait? It'll teach him a lesson. The sooner, the better."

I shook my head, "He's probably watching us right now. I don't want him to get the idea that you know. So just act like I broke up with you or something, okay?" I glanced around, happy that for once Sam was in the vicinity. He was walking past the soccer field, pink backpack swinging against his legs.

And if you just thought to yourself '_Pink_?'… yes, _pink_. Hey, it's Sam, what do you expect?

Fang nodded, kissing my forehead as he snuck a look to make sure Sam wasn't looking, and walked off.

Emma waited until Fang had disappeared behind the cafeteria before busting out laughing, "Dude, do you know how awesome that was? That was amazing. Seriously. Sam is going to regret asking you to the dance." I just nodded, helping her up, and we walked together back to our lockers.

I hummed some new song to myself as I twirled the combination of my lock, thinking of how incredibly awesome the next day was going to be.

"_I'm going to show him what a little girls made of  
Gunpowder and lead…"_

**Last song lyrics**: "Gun Powder and Lead" by Miranda Lambert


	8. Max's Sinister Intentions

I rolled over in my bed, digging myself deeper into the covers and trying to remember the wonderful dream I had been having, even though I could hardly remember what it was about. Wasn't that the weird thing about dreams? You wake up with that warm, fuzzy feeling in your brain, and want to relive that dream… but when you think of what it was, it just automatically deletes itself.

Maybe dreams are just bipolar or OCD about not being remembered. Who knows?

But right then, as I cracked open my eyes, my alarm clock blasted out some new song I'd heard on MTV a couple of weeks ago.

The chorus started and I rolled over, facing my handsome boyfriend, whose abs were flexing as he awakened. Can we say "Dammmmnnnnn!"? Seriously? Cause I will, if need be.

Fang groaned, reaching over to slam the snooze button down on my clock. After finishing that task, he turned back over and draped an arm across my waist.

"Good morning, gorgeous," He yawned and lazily kissed my lips, running his other hand through my tangled blonde hair. Luckily this time it wasn't sticky, so Fang didn't have to become Mr. Pervert again.

"Mornin'," I smiled, pecking him once on the lips before sliding out of bed and into my bathroom.

"Any reason you asked me to sleep in here last night?" Fang called from my bedroom as I heard him dragging his feet across the carpet and stretching his muscles.

"Nope. No reason. I just… wanted you beside me," I paused, smirking as I finished, "Why? Do you not want to sleep with me? Cause I-"

"No, no, no! Not that at all. I was just wondering cause it was so out of the blue," Fang defended just like I had figured he would. Of course my dear boyfriend was willing to get close to me at night at any costs. Especially now that Sam had his eye on me.

Oh, yeah, Sam! He was pretty much half of the reason I had asked Fang to spend the night with me. See, Sammy-Boy was supposed to meet me at my door at nine that morning. And since Fang and I had "broken up," I figured that he would be much braver, and wouldn't think of Fang coming out and kicking his ass.

Like Fang was going to after I had told him everything Sam had "told" me. I seriously hoped Emma hadn't squealed to Iggy or something about my sinister intentions for Sam.

"That's what I thought." I grinned, jumping into the shower and then allowing Fang into the bathroom.

What? I can shower with him in there. And if he tries anything- which he won't because I've threatened to make him a woman if he does- well… no more boy parts for Fang.

"So what time is that dance?"

"Around nine." I answered and poured shampoo into my hands.

Suddenly, there was a burst of cold wind, as I realized Fang had stalked out of the bathroom.

"Who's knocking on your door?" Damn it, Sam wasn't supposed to come until later!

I hurriedly finished up with my shower, wrapping myself up in a towel, slipped on some panties and a bra underneath, and headed out of the bathroom. "Yeah, but what are you doing here?" Fang hissed at Sam, who was now looking very confused and… angry?

"I'm here to see Max, I already told you!" Now was my time to shine, as I stepped in between the two guys. Well, if you counted Sam a true male species.

"Sam! I agreed to go to the dance with you already! Will you just leave Fang and I alone?" I spat at the blonde kid staring lovingly at me. Ick. Puhhhhlease.

"What? But I thought you two had broken up?"

"No, Sam, just because you tried to force me to-"

"What? I never forced you to do anything! You said that-"

"I said that I would obey your stupid demands to save my damn Flock!" I shouted, narrowing my eyes at the poor boy challenging me. People were beginning to trickle down the hallway, wondering what was going on. Good. The more the merrier.

Fang stepped up next to me, pointing at Sam as he glanced over at me, "Is this true? He threatened the Flock for you to go out with him?"

Sam's jaw dropped to the ground, "Huh? Max! Quit lying! All I _did_ was ask you to go to formal with me!"

I shook my head, "No, Sam, you did _way_ more than that! You even told me that if I didn't go, after you destroyed the Flock, you would come after me and…" I sobbed, turning away as Fang's wrath skyrocketed.

"_What_," Fang spat at his enemy, "did you say to her?"

"I didn't-"

"Like hell you didn't! She's bawling over there! Now tell me what you said to her or I will throw you through a wall!" Fang slammed his fist against the nearest wall and shoved his knuckles through it roughly. Grreeeattt. Fang just had to make a hole in my room, didn't he?

"I DIDN'T-"

"THAT'S _IT_, SAM! I AM GONNA _KILL_ YOU!" Fang pounced and Sam was on the ground beneath him in less than… oh… a millisecond? Fang slammed his fist against Sam's face, and I heard a bone crunch before the teachers could get to the both of them.

"Williams! Brown! What's going on here?" Mrs. Kemp screeched as she and Mr. Fleming threw Fang against the wall. Mr. Fleming held him back, putting my boyfriend in a headlock, as Mrs. Kemp dragged Sam to the other side.

"All right, everyone, get out of here! There's nothing to see!" Mr. Fleming ordered and the kids reluctantly skulked away, glancing over their shoulders to get a last look before heading to class.

Mr. Fleming turned to me, Fang still struggling in his arms. I knew that Fang could get out of the hold easily, but was glad he didn't try to. God knows we didn't need any more drama.

"Now, Miss Ride, what in the _hell_ is going on here?"

"Sam came to my door this morning because yesterday…" I took in a deep breath, "He said that if I didn't go with him to formal that he would kill my family and then… kidnap me and do… stuff to me."

Mr. Fleming's eyes were wide, Mrs. Kemp making that "Oh, you poor thing" expression, Fang was foaming at the mouth, and Sam was growing angrier by the second.

"Is this true, Brown?" Fleming shot a disgusted look over to Sam.

"No! She's crazy! I just asked her and-"

"Oh, shove it, Sam! Emma heard everything you said!"

Mr. Fleming let go of Fang, setting him against the wall as he walked over to Sam, and began dragging the boy down the hallway.

"You, young man, are in a load of trouble. You threaten to kill several students, you threaten to injure Miss Ride, and you get into a fight with another student who was just defending his _girlfriend_ from you…" Mr. Fleming shook his head with repulsion, leading Sam down the hallway until they both disappeared.

We all three stood there- Mrs. Kemp, Fang, and I- silent, until she opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again, "Oh, honey, I am just so sorry about all of this. Don't worry about him. He'll be taught a lesson," She patted my shoulder and then rushed off after Mr. Fleming and Sam. There was about a full minute of more silence, until Fang put an arm around my shoulder, and walked me back into my room. We stood out on my balcony, watching the sun's rays peek over the treetops.

"You should have told me before. And then I could have really killed him like I was planning to." Fang grumbled next to me and I squeezed his hand.

"Well, then you would have been arrested and gone to jail for murder and I would have never hardly seen you. And I know you can't live without me." I nudged his side with my elbow playfully and he smirked down at me.

"Really? And why are you so sure about that?"

I shrugged, "No reason. Just remember this: when you spend the night with me, try not to have such mushy dreams about me. Seriously? _Nicholas Sparks_ would have had a heart attack for all of the sweet words you were talking." Fang's face turned from the usual tan to a deep red. I giggled, wrapping my arms around his waist, and pulled him in close to me.

My alarm clock- which was set to go off every ten minutes- started going off inside the room. Finally, the waves of sun swept onto us, the sunlight bouncing off of the nearby lake on campus.

"_Moments turn to hours that become years  
And now I'm  
Far from here, and we are happy  
Far from here, we are all right  
Far from here, things are peaceful  
Far from here, we have insight  
Far from here, we've detangled  
Our strangled hold  
And I hope to see you there_…"

**AN: If any of you don't know, Nicholas Sparks is the one who wrote "A Walk to Remember" and all those romantic-esque books.**

**Song: "Far From Here" by Alissa Moreno. **


	9. Chicken Man Sam

Lights, camera, action!

Eh… not really. But still. It kinda was like Hollywood… almost.

Fang, Iggy, Emma, and I were dressed in our formal attires, all posing on the steps as my mom took, like, a thousand pictures.

"Okay, now a couple with just Fang and Max!" My mom exclaimed all-too-eagerly and I huffed, watching as Iggy and Emma ditched us.

"Don't worry. Only five more minutes. And then we'll be on the dance floor." Fang whispered in my ear before posing to take another picture.

"Thank God." I muttered through my bright smile, camera flashes resonating inside my head.

My dress was white, just hitting below my knees, strapless, and with a black bow tied around the waist. Trust me, it looked so much better in real life.

Fang and Iggy were dressed in a plain black tuxedos, since that's what every guy basically wears to formals. Emma's dress was brown, with circle-shaped sequins and a brown bow tied in the front also.

Basically, we were the hottest things to ever walk into Hardin Valley High's Winter Formal. Yeah, I know, I'm being such a snob about it, but I'm being serious. We all looked really great.

That was, of course, brought up (yet _again_) by my mother:

"Oh, Iggy and Emma! You look _absolutely_ adorable! Oh, and Fang, you and Max look ravishing!" My mom continued to oodle over us until the limo pulled up and we all climbed in.

"Finally! Free at last from the evil clutches of Psycho Martinez." Iggy grinned as he placed an arm around Emma. She laughed suddenly, covering her mouth lightly with her hand to stop.

"Um… I don't believe the joke was that funny, Em." Fang told her with a smirk, watching Emma fall apart as she laughed harder. She was shaking her head, mumbling "no not that" over and over again.

She did this until she could contain the giggles and then explained, "I was thinking of what would happen if Sam showed up."

"Oh, God. Please don't continue. I don't want to hear his name ever again." I rolled my eyes and hoped Emma would keep her trap shut. Fang had been doing fine; I didn't need him treating me like some caged-up dog and hanging on my arm all night.

"No! Let me explain. See, I left him this anonymous Truth Box message on MySpace that said 'This is Max's friend. She's sorry for this morning. She just wanted Fang to be mad and not go to the formal. Meet her outside the hotel doors at eleven. And wear something that will make her go cluck-cluck over you!'" Everyone kind of stared at our blind friend for a moment. And then burst out laughing.

"What the _hell_? Did you seriously just say 'something that will make her go _cluck-cluck_'?" Fang had his hands on his knees, wiping away the tears that had sprung to his eyes. Iggy was wheezing, out of breath from laughing, and I was trying to figure out what the hell Emma had gotten me into.

Emma pouted, crossing her arms across her chest frustratedly, "Hey! It was an idea! Besides, you guys know Sam. He takes everything literally. Which means…"

Iggy and Fang stopped laughing and I stopped wanting to bash Emma in the head as we all realized what, just exactly, that meant.

**Later…**

What did it mean, you ask? Well, it meant that when Fang and erupted from the dance floor later that night around eleven, Sam was seated outside, waiting for me.

In a chicken-suit.

Yeah, seriously. No joke. I have the pictures to prove it too, if you want to make sure I'm not lying.

"Max!" Sam greeted me eagerly as he jumped up, the pink feathers around him blowing in the light breeze. Then, he saw Fang next to me, and he glared, "What is _he_ doing with you?"

"I'm her _boyfriend_. That answer your question?" Fang gritted his teeth and I pushed him back.

"So, Sam… uh… what are you doing out here? In a chicken suit?" I fluffed up his giant pink feathers and he puffed out his chest and proclaimed loudly,

"I am Sam the Chicken Man! Come to sweep you off of your feet, my Hen Mistress!" By this time, all of the couples that had been hidden in the bushes sucking face came out, poking their heads from behind fountains and trees, wondering what the hell was going on.

"Uh… Sam… what are you talking about? Are you on drugs?"

He looked like someone had just slapped him in the face, "No… I got that Truth Box message from one of your friends. And it said that you still had the hots for me and that I should come here and make you go 'cluck-cluck' or something," He flashed me a goofy smile, holding out his giant bird finger in a thumbs-up sign, "So… will you be my Hen Mistress?"

"Seriously?"

Sam looked like I had just said "I'll think about it"; his were feet bouncing up and down and the bird tail was swishing back and forth, "Yeah! So, will you?"

"Uh… no." I turned to ditch this weirdo and tell Emma all about what had just happened when a feathery hand wrapped around my ankle and pulled me back. I screamed out in surprise, catching Fang's attention, and he tried to rip me away from Chicken Man Sam or whatever his name was. "Sam! Let go!" I screeched at the pink Big Bird but he wouldn't let go. And even Fang's powerful kicks and punches weren't enough to make Sam let go.

"NOOOO! YOU WILL BE THE HEN MISTRESS! YOU WILL SERVE YOUR PURPOSE FOR MEEEEE!" Sam was squealing and growling now, his fingers crunching into my leg, to the point I was fearful that he would break the bone.

I cried out, the pain too overwhelming and I fell to the concrete. I reached up for Fang and held onto him as Sam continued to pull at me. "Max! I love you! Why can't you understand that? I would do anything for you! Please be my Hen Mistress! I will feed you _caterphhhhhhillars_! O, Maximum, Maximum, wherefore art thou Maximum! But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Maximum is the sun-"

"Sam!"

"-fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief! It is my lady, O, it is my love! O, that she knew she were-"

"_Sam_!"

"-speaks yet she says nothing: what of that? Her eye discourses; I will answer it. I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks-"

"_SAM_!" I shrieked that time, finally grabbing his attention for him to SHUT THE FUCK UP!

"Yes, my great Hen Mistress love?" Sam winked his eyes a couple too many times at me and I wanted to flip him off. But my hands were currently gripping at the pavement, trying not to be captured away from that psycho.

"Nighty night." I smiled sweetly at him and before he could figure out what was going on, Fang jumped up and slammed down on top of Sam's head, knocking him unconscious immediately. I yanked my leg out of his limp grasp and allowed Fang to help me up.

Iggy and Emma were bursting through the doors, helping me out onto the veranda that was connected to the hotel. Fang and I sat out on a stone bench that surrounded the fountain. He scooted me down the bench and then took my leg, placed it across his lap, and began massaging it. And I had to tell you, it felt _amazing_ to get out of those heels.

"Do you remember when we used to watch those TV shows, where the mom would always do that piggy thing with her kids' toes? 'This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home, this little piggy had roast beef, this little piggy had none; and this little piggy went wee, wee, wee all the way home.'" Fang chuckled and I laughed along, remembering how foolish we thought it had been.

"You do that and I will slice off your head." I muttered sarcastically, my own falling back as I closed my eyes. God, Fang could give an excellent massage. All I could hear was the faint sounds of thumping music, Fang's even breathing, and the water trickling down the rock fountain behind us.

"Which head?" Fang smirked and I would have reached up to smack him, but I was just too comfortable and I figured I would let him off the hook just this once. After about five songs blasting from inside, I grew impatient with Fang's constant foot rubbing, and quickly sat up.

"So, what do you think was going on with Sam?" I questioned, dipping my hand into the water behind us.

Fang shrugged beside me, running his fingers lightly over my knuckles, "Who cares? But still. Something tells me that whatever they did to him at the School isn't going to help us out. Especially since I couldn't even get you out of his grasp."

"Yeah. It was like I had a pair of indestructible ankle-cuffs on or something. And my leg still kinda hurts," I mumbled, running my hand along the bruise that was forming on my lower leg. Fang and I sat close together, his arm securely wrapped around my shoulders, my head resting on his chest. The icicle lights draped above us twinkled, catching the window's glass and casting dancing shadows around us. I sighed contentedly and snuggled closer to Fang.

"Thank you." I said quietly.

"For what?"

I sighed happily again, loving the feeling of his voice rumbling as I laid on his chest, "Everything." I told him, knowing that he would understand. I pulled away from him slightly and he looked down at me. I could feel my heart racing as I tilted my head up and leaned towards him, my lips slightly parted. Fang leaned in before finally capturing my lips with his.

Our kiss was sweet and slow and gentle. His lips were so soft and melded with mine so perfectly. I pressed closer to him on the bench, my fingers intertwined through his black hair.

Eventually we slowed and reluctantly pulled apart, our foreheads together to maintain some contact.

"I love you." He whispered and I felt tears brimming in my ears, knowing that he whole-heartedly meant those three little words.

"I love you more." I giggled and he snuck a kiss on my forehead, bringing his forehead back onto mine as he whispered,

"Doubt it. My love reaches to the… edge of the universe."

I giggled again, pressing my lips to his, and spoke against them, "Well, my love goes farther than that." He was about to challenge me so I quickly added, "And any other number higher than what you say."

He groaned playfully, rolling his eyes at my childishness before shrugging, "All right. Well, my love goes farther than that. But my love says to not let you know that little secret, so you can think you won the game."

"And why would it say that?"

He simply smiled, "So I can have another kiss."

"Ah. Very good idea, love," I smiled against his lips as we leaned in and captured another Kodak moment.

"_Kiss me out of the bearded barley  
Nightly, beside the green, green grass  
Swing, swing, swing the spinning step  
You'll wear those shoes and I will wear that dress._

_Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight  
Lead me out on the moonlit floor  
Lift your open hand  
Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance  
Silver moon's sparkling  
So kiss me…"_

**AN: "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer. **

**I do not own: Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, MySpace, and… whatever else I mentioned that I don't own.**


	10. It's Like Christmas In July

**AN: Sorry, guys. I was at the beach for a week and then I've been jammed this whole week. Tomorrow ensues green bean canning. Joy, right?**

Starting December 23rd, Lerner's gave us sixteen days off for Christmas break. Which was kind of odd, because not a lot of people that attended Lerner's celebrated the famous holiday. You know, on account that their parents had abandoned them or they (like the Flock) had never had parents.

So that left just a tad bit of a gap in the whole "Jesus loves you" thing. I, personally, wanted to find out where this guy Jesus was hiding out, and how I could get there. Seems like a great place to hide from the School, if he's lived for like… however how long he's been around.

Meanwhile, Gazzy and Angel had gone with friends to Georgia, something about Six Flag's Winter Festival. Emma and Iggy were heading to board a cruise ship to the Bahamas. Which just left Fang, Nudge, and me.

"Hey, Hen Mistress!" A voice shouted down the hallway as I exited my dorm. Oh, and Sam was left here too.

"Hi, Sam," I sighed, turning to meet him. And from that moment on, the next sixteen days were pure heaven. In his hands were suitcases. Yeah! Now you see why I was so happy.

"I'm leaving to go to my grandma's house. I just wanted to let you know, that way you don't freak out when I'm gone."

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I simply nodded, "Okay. Have a fun trip." Suddenly, there was a flash of something across his face, his mouth curling into a smirk, before settling back into his normal face.

"Thanks. I'm sure I will. I've got some unfinished business to do." Uhh… what do you say to that?

"Cool." Cue awkward silence where all I could think about were the next sixteen days without that kid who was then scaring the shit out of me and how on the day after the break, January 8th, I would be concerned for my life.

Finally, after feeling the urge to runaway several times, Sam bid goodbye and left me in the middle of the hallway.

"Where's he go-" I shrieked, leaping forward a bit and spinning around on my heel to face the guy who was now laughing at me.

"Iggy! What are you doing here?" My blind brother shrugged, the duffle bag on his shoulder landing with a thump to the floor.

"Travel agent called. The ship got caught up in some weather. We're leaving tonight instead of noon."

I grinned, "Does this mean that I'll have to see you off again?"

"Well, God, Max, don't sound so joyful about it," Iggy laughed and placed an arm around my shoulder. "Oh, and Nudge asked me to ask you if she could go with her best friend Kayla to her family's beach house?"

I sighed, wishing Nudge had better planning skills, "When and where?"

"They're leaving this afternoon and I _think_somewhere around Palm Beach." Pulling out my phone, I texted a quick "yeah you can go, make sure not to kill each other. Love ya." By that time, Mr. Sleeping Beauty had erupted from his room and joined us.

He eyed Iggy, Iggy's arm, and then me before he sarcastically asked, "You stealing my girl or something?"

Ig snorted, "Fo sho. And along with me going out with my own sister and becoming a gangster, I'm going to make Nudge a prostitute, Gazzy a pimp, join Three 6 Mafia, turn metro sexual, and, along with the big screen TV I'm going to buy, rent dirty movies that have no sound."

Fang laughed, "That sounds… boring. What's the point of a dirty movie if it has no sound?" I leaned over and smacked his head.

"Anyway," Iggy's turned to me, "You never answered my question."

"Which one?"

"Where was Metro-Sam going?"

"Vacation. He's going up to his grandma's."

Fang's eyebrows went up, "Seriously? Sweet. So we're Sam-free for the whole break?"

I nodded, "And apparently we're Flock-free too. Gaz and Ange are headed to Six Flags, Ig and Em are going on that cruise later, and Nudge is going down to some beach house."

Fang's eyebrows wiggled and he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close, "A whole break to ourselves? Man, I'm going to have a very Merry Christmas after all, aren't I?" I shoved Fang away and felt my stomach rumble.

"All right. That's it. I'm going downstairs to get breakfast. Anyone else wanna come?" Iggy grabbed his bag, slinging it back over his shoulder and followed me.

"I'm headed to the gym." Fang jogged up next to me, kissing my forehead and then turned around to take the elevator to the lobby. Iggy and I traveled to the stairs silently, enjoying how empty the school was. I'm not sure why we had taken the long way, but we had, and as the giant set of stairs appeared, Iggy talked.

"You know what I think's weird?"

"What?"

"That you and Fang ended up together. I mean, everyone always knew you like each other, but still. Nobody else in the Flock liked one another, but you two…."

"Well, if you had liked Nudge that would have been a little creepy and pedophile-esque 'cause you two always acted like brother and sister, Gazzy found Nudge too annoying and sister-like, and if Angel and Gazzy…" I shuddered, "that would be so odd and sick and weird. Not to mention incestual."

Iggy grinned, "Is that even a word?"

"It is now," I stuck out my tongue at my younger brother.

Iggy shook his head and replied, "Well, still. There's the fact that you and Fang were kind of brother and sister, technically. But the Flock chose to ignore that detail when we all noticed you liked each other. A lot."

I smiled up at him, even though it was completely pointless, "Aww. How sweet. You actually refrained for incestual jokes?"

"Yes, actually, I did. Especially when I heard you guys making out all those nights." Iggy cringed and opened the refrigerator door. "Let's see…" He moved his hand into the fridge and felt the different containers, lifting them out to sniff. "Oh, God," He gagged and placed the rotten chicken fettuccini back onto the shelf.

"You're just gonna leave it in there?" I laughed as he searched around for something else to sniff.

He shrugged, "Well, obviously someone has it out for me. Otherwise, they wouldn't leave rotten food in my favorite Tupperware container."

"That's right, Ig, someone wants to kill you with old pasta. I can see the hatred they have for you." We made food and then sat at the breakfast bar. For a few minutes we ate in silence, just the sound of bread crunching and the local news channel anchors announcing a five-car pileup.

"Oh, yeah. I have a question," Iggy spoke above the Ford commercial with the guy who broke a sweat every time he shouted the make and model.

"What?"

"Do you remember when Fang had that blog?"

"Yeah." The commercial guy started yelling about a new Mazda for ninety-nine down and two hundred dollars a month.

"And do you remember when, about the second year he had it, Nudge posted that picture of Fang and you sucking face with each other?"

"Yeah…." He was silent for a moment, so I had to listen to even more of Mr. Wallace and his cheap-ass car facts.

"Um… I kinda drew that. And forced Nudge to upload it." He laughed as I turned my head towards him, my eyes just tiny slits, and yet another death glare was ruined on account of Ig's disability.

"You son a bitch! I am going to kill you and slit your throat and bring you back from the dead and force you to listen to Nudge singing and-" Iggy overturned his empty plate, laughing, and took off out of the back door that led to the side yard of the dorms. The plate that had shattered into tiny pieces was now in my hand, waving at Iggy as he dashed across the yard. But don't worry, we were laughing the whole time.

Mostly.


	11. Horse Drawn Carriages

After hitting the main strip of Palm Beach, I left my car in a parking garage and headed toward the shops along Ocean Avenue. Fang's note that I had found when I had rolled over this morning read "Buy something nice. Surprise later. Be ready by eight. Love you." So… with his credit card, which he had graciously left me, I walked straight into the most expensive-looking store. Hey, I'm still a chick.

After sending away the annoying shopping assistants, I headed straight for the evening gowns. There, in front of me, stood racks and racks of prom dresses, wedding dresses, sundresses, party dresses, bridesmaid's dresses, ball gowns, and evening gowns. Whew boy. This was going to be a long day.

As I left and headed across the street, I received a text message from my friend Laurel, saying that there was a huge sale at the mall. And thinking that it was Christmas, I figured I would not want to waste all of Fang's money on just one thing, I turned around and headed back to my car.

I had been doing just dandy (maybe I shouldn't watch all those old Western movies with Gazzy anymore should I?). Actually, I had been doing quite well with my whole shopping experience. Until a skinny, short dude with a goatee strolled up to me, his nametag shining in my eyes. Saucy. No, seriously, his nametag read "Saucy" across it in gold letters.

"Ello, Madame," Saucy spoke with a possibly fake French accent, "Is there anything I can help you wif today?"

I shook my head, smiling even though _Saucy_ could probably tell it was forced, and said, "No, thank you. I'm okay." Saucy nodded curtly once and then was gone, off harassing some other poor innocent victim. I finished going through a rack of dresses and headed to another, spotting a hot fuchsia color poking out from the rest of the dresses. Pulling it out, I checked the size, and headed towards the dressing rooms.

"Having fun?" Saucy popped up and sent me backwards, into a mannequin and knocking it over.

"Yeah. I'm just going to try this on," I motioned to my dress, stepping aside to get away from the creepy guy. What is it with creepy guys and their name's starting with S?

He grabbed my arm, turning me back around and smiling lopsidedly, "Hey, can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure." Oh, hush up. This guy could have killed me with a single stab of his gelled-up goatee. It's not like I had much of a choice: listen and live or get shanked by a _beard_.

Saucy giggled and leaned in closely, "You see that guy over in the ties?"

My eyes scanned the vicinity of Sears, finding an actually attractive man holding a handful of business suits, "Yeah…"

"Well… I've got the hugest crush on him. His name is Horacio." Hmm… am I sensing an odd connection to crime-scene shows or _what_?

"Okay. I'm… happy for you?" Seriously, creepy Saucy spicy Mr. Dude, I need to get on with my life so I can find a dress that's sexy enough to make a serious impression on my boyfriend. Saucy let out a giant squeal and kissed me full on the lips, rushing over to the Horacio and jumping onto the poor guy's back and…well… "hugging" him sweetly.

I didn't pay attention to what happened next, because I rushed off towards the dressing room and didn't come out for about thirty minutes.

See, children, that is why you never let the sales associates help you. They end up being super bizarre and humping people randomly in the tie section.

After leaving with my dress, I was on my way to the Sephora store to pick out some makeup. After choosing the correct shade of foundation, powder, blah blah girly stuff blah, I actually _asked_ for help from a sales person and found the perfect shade of eye shadow that matched my dress. Then, after passing through the mall to make sure there would be nothing else I needed, I stopped at Victoria's Secret and bought myself a new bra to fit underneath the dress. A sales associate ushered me towards a new line of skimpy night gowns and I high-tailed it outta there.

This day was going to be perfect. And I actually, for once, felt that overwhelming sense of holiday joy.

Until… I stepped outside and two raindrops plummeted right onto my head and right arm. I sighed, hoping that it better had not rain on my parade.

**Later…**

**FANG POV**

I had just gotten to my dorm room when I heard Max hurrying around on the other side of the wall, the sink going off and on, her swearing as something crashed to the floor. I would have ran in and checked to make sure she was okay, but when I tried, she told me to not come in.

So I had to patiently wait until my driver called and informed me that he was waiting outside. And then, just as I had planned, I walked up to Max's door, knocked on it, and was pleased when she immediately opened the do- _wow_.

She looked beautiful- no, more than beautiful. There were no words to describe how… lovely she looked. Her dress was a pinkish color (maybe a magenta or fuchsia, but hey, I'm a guy), with two straps that went around her neck (a halter… right?), and it cut off around her knees, with two lines of diamonds all the way to her um… chest…area.

"Hey." She greeted, smiling up at me, her brown eyes shining from the sun that was slowly setting behind her.

"Good evening, Miss Ride." I bowed, a smirk on my face, and held out my arm. She linked it around her own and I walked with her down the staircase and out the front doors, where a horse-drawn carriage was waiting.

Her eyes lit up as she turned to me, "You did all this? Fang, oh my God!" I grinned, knowing that I had made the right choice in transportation, and helped her into the carriage.

"Where to, young man?" The driver turned and flashed us a smile.

"The Regas Bistro." The driver nodded once and flicked the horses with his reigns, heading down the driveway and onto the main road.

Max giggled, pointing as the cars drove past, "Do you know how out of place we look? A horse-drawn fairytale carriage in the middle of Palm Beach?"

I leaned in, kissing her softly on the lips, "They're not staring just at the carriage."

"Then what are they staring at?" Max had one eyebrow up, confused as she turned to look at me.

I smiled, knowing how corny it was, but I just couldn't resist, "You."

She sat there for a moment, letting it sink in, and then blushed, "…Thanks."

"You're welcome." I intertwined my fingers into hers and smiled, feeling accomplished. I had made _the_ Maximum Ride blush. We sat like that- side-by-side, hand in hand- for some time, enjoying the scenery at night with the sunset, and listening to the sounds of the horses trotting along. Dear God, I sound like Shakespeare. All this lovey-doveyness has gone straight to my head.

And then I looked over at Max, seeing the way she glowed in the light, and how I felt a strong urge to kiss her, and I knew that it was all right. I could have just one night of this, couldn't I? One night of just pure enchantment, with just me and Max, alone and sharing a special moment together.

Right?


	12. Swaying to Music Inside the Gazebo

**AN: Gahhh. There's too much going on. I'm supposed to be working on The Kite Runner report for school, but… it's too late to start something totally new. Besides, I need to type up this chapter.**

**So… here's chapter… whatever. I'm too lazy to go find out the chapter number.**

**Oh, and guess what? I'm 15! Sweet!**

**MAX POV**

Exiting out of the carriage, Fang led me into what might just possibly be the most expensive restaurant in town. Hey, it's not like I have a bunch of money to blow going out to eat, all right? Anyway, he walked us up to the front desk, where some guy dressed up in a tuxedo walked us towards the back of the restaurant. And kept going through more doors. Uhh… where on Earth was he taking u-

The host opened a pair of double doors that led out onto a balcony, which was draped with twinkling lights and a huge rock water fountain to the side. The man sat us down at a table that overlooked the waterfall below us. He left us then to await the waiter and I just stared at Fang.

"What?" He grinned, flipping through the menu in front of him.

"Don't you 'what' me, Fang. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"I don't recall you talking. Could you please repeat whatever it was that you said that I didn't hear?" His smirk grew bigger as I rolled my eyes, not exactly sure how I was supposed to thank him for this occasion.

"Well, I'd have to say that it's a giant waste. I mean…" I looked around for something to complain about, myself being Maximum Ride; I couldn't take anything without admiring how it could be better. And yet… everything was perfect. There were no bugs flying around the balcony, it wasn't too hot, the lights weren't dizzying… it was just like Fang. Dark, mysterious, beautiful, and… magical. "The host was way too dressed up to be a host and what happens if it starts randomly raining? I mean, what are we going to do then? And-" Somewhere in the time between me fakely complaining and my words being cut off, Fang had leaned across the table and captured my lips. Just like that. See? Told ya he was mysterious and magical.

I broke away, blushed at him, and then looked away.

He just smirked, whispering into my ear, "Maximum Ride, you quit that act. You know you are in love with this place- and me- and you just don't want to admit it," before he sat back down in his seat.

Grr Fang and his ability to read my mind. "So… what are you having?" He looked at me over the top of his menu, his dark eyes sparkling from the surrounding lights.

"Hmm… food. How 'bout you?" I smiled sweetly and Fang quickly mouthed "smartass" as the waiter came up to the table.

"Hello, my name is Benjamin, and I will be your server tonight," He smiled and placed two tiny napkins in front of Fang and I, "Is there anything I can get you to drink?"

"Yes, I'd like a cup of coffee, and she'll have a…" Fang looked over at me and I forgot that I was supposed to be ordering a drink. He looked so damn good looking in that tux of his.

"Ma'am? What would you like to drink?" Benjamin was waving his hand in front of my face and I leaped back in my seat, "Oh, sorry. I'd like a sweet tea without any lemon." Ben just nodded, scribbling something down on his little notepad, and retreated back into the restaurant.

Fang watched him go, looked down at the waterfall, and then up at me, smirking. Oh, boy. Explaining what had just happened was going to be fun.

"So uh… what was up with staring at me and drooling so much?"

"I drooled?" I covered my face with my hands and slammed it down onto the table. Okay, now would be the time to have a brain explosion, Erasers come back from the dead, the world to explode… _anything_!

"Max, don't worry about it. Besides, I had to admit that I was checking you out too," Fang blushed and then quickly recovered, "But at least I didn't stall our order."

Ahh, Fang. Always the one to have the last word.

I was going to open my mouth and tell him off, but then Ben walked through the double doors with our drinks, and I thought better of it.

"So, have we decided on what we want to eat?" Ben pulled out his little notebook and flipped to a random page, pen ready to jot down orders.

Fang started, "Yes, I'll have the Regas Royal Filet Mignon, the Pasta Nola, the New Zealand Lobster Tail, Lemon Chicken, and a Caesar salad with blue cheese dressing."

The waiter stood there, his pen not moving at first, and then when he realized that Fang was serious, he eagerly wrote out the order.

Then Ben turned to me, a gleam in his eyes as he probably thought of how nice of tip he was going to get,

"I'll have the New York Strip, a side of the jumbo shrimp, the chicken club, New England clam chowder soup, and the Mediterranean Chicken salad."

Benjamin thanked us about three times, took our menus, and then sped off towards the kitchen. Fang and I sat in silence for some time, just watching the waterfall cascade over the lights, the ocean waves a distant roar in the background. Off down the coast there was a sudden roar of what sounded like… thunder? Fang had heard it too and we both looked up at each other, eyes wide. Thunderstorm? Near Christmas?

As soon as another roll of thunder sounded, the speakers near us came alive with some sappy love song. And as much as I hate, hate, _hate _to admit it, I sighed with content and hummed along with the tune.

_Baby lock the door and turn the lights down low  
Put some music on that's soft and slow  
Baby we ain't got no place to go  
I hope you understand_

We watched each other for a moment and then Fang stood up and extended his arm, "Care to dance, my lady?"

I laughed at his horrible British accent, but took his arm anyway and let him drag me into the center of the balcony.

The music kept playing, the woman's voice sometimes covered up by the thunderstorm that was slowly closing in. And then, like someone set off a pack of fireworks, lightning striked through the sky, some bolts coming down not even three miles away. The winds picked up, blowing the mist from the waterfall onto us. Only bits and pieces of the song were heard through the rumbles and crashes, as Benjamin ran out to bring us into the restaurant.

"Oh, my! I'm so sorry. We didn't expect the storm to hit this far down the coast!" Ben kept apologizing over and over again, rushing from the kitchen to our new table, bringing bread and some water glasses, as if this thunderstorm would leave us starved or something.

Fang and I just snuggled close, propping our feet up on the table across from us, and listened to the music and storm's sounds mix and mingle together.

Near the bar area, people were watching the Weather Channel, clips of the storm playing over the TV screen and warnings scrolling across the bottom of the screen, telling people to stay indoors and away from windows.

"Santa's going to have a hard time making it through this wind," Fang joked as we dug into our dinner that had just arrived.

I shook my head and laughed, "Nah. He'll just use his Jedi ninja powers to throw the presents down the chimneys."

Fang choked on his pasta, laughs coming out every now and then between the coughs.

"There is no way on God's Earth that Santa has Jedi powers. It's just not… civil. It's like the Easter Bunny having Top Chef-worthy cooking skills. It's just… wrong."

"Well, maybe we just don't know all the facts about Santa. We only know what old people and kids made up like… eighty years ago."

"Santa's older than _that_."

"And how would _you_ know? Were you there when he was born?"

Fang nodded, "As a matter of fact, I was."

I cringed my face up, "Ick. Why am I dating someone who's as old as Santa?"

Fang shrugged, "Botox."

"But then why aren't you the one who's throwing presents down strangers' chimneys?" I laughed as Fang sarcastically thought long and hard about my question.

"Well, you see, I was too busy teaching the Easter Bunny how to color eggs and weave Dora the Explorer baskets."

"Dora the Explorer didn't exist back then."

"How do you know?" Fang smirked and shoved a forkful of salad into his mouth.

"Cause… of the copyrights at the end of each show." The lights above us flickered and the music abruptly paused and then started again. He shook his head, chuckling at me, as the storm around us finally came to a decision. And what was that decision, you ask? Well, as Fang had finished chuckling and I was seriously considering throwing my salad at his face, the lights went out. All of them.

So, Fang and I were sitting in pitch-darkness while a huge storm bellowed outside. Suddenly, people around us were screaming and someone kept dropping the F bomb, complaining how he had left his car windows down.

Glad I had ridden there in a horse-drawn carriage. Fang took me by the hand and we calmly walked behind everyone who was rushing out, wives waiting on their husbands to pull the car around so they wouldn't get soaked.

But then there was the fact that our oh-so-fabulous Cinderella-horse-drawn-carriage was… _NOT_ outside waiting for us. Yeah, the old fat guy who had been so cheery drove off and left us in the middle of a freaking storm!

So as I was contemplating on how to behead and murder the man, Fang intertwined his fingers through mine, motioned with his head to the sidewalk, and simply asked, "Wanna take a walk?"

Let's see, Fang. What are our options? Either we call a cab and we get there oh… three hours shorter and stay much more dry, or we just walk through the rain like idiots and get drenched and have to call it a night?

I was going to say all of this aloud, but thought better, and argued with myself this time. As soon as I had turned to basically bitch at Fang for such a stupid idea, I caught the look in his eyes and… that smile. Dear God, this boy could turn me to a Jell-O Pudding Cup just by lifting the corners of his mouth.

I smiled, pulling him off of the curb and into the pouring rain, the wind crashing against me as if I were flying, and simply answered, "Let's go, Santa man."

**Five hours later…MAX POV**

I'm not exactly sure what time it was, but judging by how many empty boxes of Swiss Cake Rolls there were, I'd say I'd been sitting here with Fang for quite some time.

Ever since we'd ended our "nature walk" three hours ago, Fang and I had been sitting in the dark, sharing kisses and fighting over the last box of Ho-Ho's that had been raided from the back of the cabinets in the kitchen. Iggy had apparently been hogging them, slipping them into a secret compartment behind the rest of the rice bowls. The only way we had known it was Iggy was on account of the half-made bombs that were laid beside the boxes.

"Iggy has some explainin' to do," Fang chuckled as he emerged through the living room's door. I only caught bits and pieces of him in the moonlight, as he made his way towards me. I got up out of the floor, helping him with the candles, as I began lighting up a few and setting them around randomly.

"And why is that?"

"Cause he had just about seventy-five percent of these candles shoved in the back of his closet."

"Why were you in the back of his closet?"

Fang gave me a look, "Seriously. It's Iggy, the Bomb Master. Why _wouldn't_ I look in his closet?" Ahhh. Lighters. The one thing Iggy can't live without.

We finished setting up the candles and returned to our spots on the pool table, hanging our legs over the side, and watched the candlelight dance across the walls.

Fang broke open the seal of another box of Ding Dong's. "You ever wonder why Hostess is perverted?"

"What do you mean?"

Fang picked up the box, listing off the rest of Hostess's treat collection, "Ahem. There's Twinkies, Ding Dong's, Suzy Q's, Sno Balls, and _Ho Hos_. Seriously?"

"Well, maybe you're the one with your mind in the gutter. Maybe there's some weird story behind each of the treats."

"Like _what_? Each name of the _hooker_ the company slept with?"

"I don't know! But I'm sure that since they haven't been sued for vulgar slang yet, they're not the names of _hookers_."

Fang noticed the look I was giving him and smiled innocently, "Whaaaaaaat? It was just an observation."

We sat in silence for a moment, munching down on our treats. I kept glancing out of the side of my eye to look at Fang. He was staring down at the ground, his eyebrows furrowed like he was thinking hard about something. I looked outside, watching the rain fall and slide down the windowpanes.

Fang made a sound as he jumped down from the pool table and raced down the hallway. I waited, listening to the sound of his feet thumping as he ran through the upstairs' hallways. Outside, the thunderstorm was fading away, the clouds breaking apart to shine the moonlight down onto the front porch. I could see most of the landscape of the front yard: the lake, the creek that ran towards the back, the forest that sparkled with raindrops.

It was like something out of one of those _Barbie_ movies.

"Let's go." Fang appeared suddenly out of nowhere and grabbed my hand, something bulky in his other. He led me out of the front door and onto the front porch, as he surveyed the front yard.

"Okay. Where are we going?" I looked around, expecting to see something pop out that I hadn't seen before. "And what's in your hands?" Fang turned and raised his arm up so I could see the stereo system in his right hand. Uhh… did anyway teach Fang that when the powers out, that means the electricity doesn't work? "Maybe I should remind you, Fang, but you can't use electricity when-"

He laughed, "I know. I'm not _that_ stupid," I gave him a look and he stuck out his tongue, "This one runs on batteries. And we're headed… there." I followed the trail his finger was pointing towards and found myself looking over at the gazebo.

"You haven't been watching _The Sound of Music_, have you?" I smirked as we walked through the wet grass, watching lightening streak across the sky.

"As a matter of fact," Fang placed the stereo system down and then reached over for a switch on the gazebo, and suddenly strands of twinkling lights, like the ones from the restaurant, came to life, "I have."

"How…." I twirled around, watching the blue and white lights shine onto the gazebo's floor, and the raindrops fall around us. Now, there was nothing to say. And let me tell you, when Maximum Ride can't think of a single world to say….

"A little bit of hooking up wires. Since the school has that extra generator, I replaced the kitchen wires with the gazebos. The refrigerator's food will be ruined, but hey," He clicked the stereo system on, "It's worth it in the end, right?"

I smiled, letting him drag me out into the middle of the floor, as the music started behind us, "Most definitely worth it."

_And I'd give up forever to touch you  
Cause I know that you feel me somehow  
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be  
And I don't want to go home right now_

"The Goo Goo Dolls?"

Fang nodded, "Of course. Only the best for my lady." I shook my head, laughing, as Fang twirled us round and round on the rain-covered floor of the gazebo. Thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance and the music grew louder. We must have been some kind of beacon, Fang and I and the music and the lights there in the gazebo. Some people passing by our road must have thought they'd died and gone to Heaven.

I know I felt that way.

Fang spun me around, dipping me down and then bringing me back up. He had dipped me so low that my dress was splattered with rainwater and grass. I didn't particularly care at that point. I was just enjoying being inside this fantasy land, away from all of the things in the world.

Just Fang and I, dancing together, and the lights like stars twinkling in rhythm to the music. "Would you like me to serenade you?" Fang chuckled as the song took a pause, the music building up something. The tempo grew stronger and you knew that something fantastic and mind-blowing was coming, but you weren't for sure yet what it was.

There were three simple beats and Fang stopped suddenly, the both of us waiting in the pure silence until the chorus started up again.

_And I don't want the world to see me  
Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am_

Fang spun me around and around; the only thing keeping me going were his strong arms and the wet floor beneath me. I spun, my eyes open, as if I were on some carousel ride, the lights dizzying and his face appearing suddenly, his smile even brighter than the lights above us.

And then… I let out a yelp as I crashed onto the wet floor, pulling Fang down on top of me. John Rzeznik continued with his song, ignoring the fact that his two listeners were now on the floor, laughing uncontrollably.

Fang sat up, pulling me up with him, and we sat there next to each other, just enjoying the moment as the song came to a finale. Suddenly, Fang started humming some tune that sounded oddly familiar. "What are you-"

"You are seventeen going on eighteen. Fellows will fall in line. Eager young lads and rogues and cads. Will offer you food and wine," He stood up and started leaping across the benches that surrounded the interior of the gazebo. Dear God, help us all. Fang was performing _The Sound of Music_. "You need someone older and wiser telling you what to do. I am seventeen going on eighteen, too. I'll take care of you…"

Fang made a gesture with his hand, letting me know it was my time to sing, but I just couldn't stop laughing. So, Fang did what any rightful Broadway star would do. He kept on singing… my part.

"I am seventeen going on eighteen. I know that I'm naïve. Fellows I meet may tell me I'm sweet and willingly I believe," He sang in a soprano voice that was supposed to be my own. Fang jumped down from the bench and dragged me onto my feet, where I was still laughing uncontrollably.

"What… did you put in… those Ho-Hos?" I finally finished my sentence as I gripped the sides of my stomach from laughing so hard. Fang didn't reply, but just brought me into the center of the gazebo, where a mass of the twinkling lights met. Almost like a Christmas-light chandelier. And suddenly, he was down on one knee, and every ounce of laughter I had in me was gone, replaced with utter shock.

Was he seriously…? No! He couldn't be. We weren't even out of high school. There was no possible way that he was- right?

"Maximum Ride," His hand emerged from his pocket holding a velvet box. He popped it open and there sat a simple diamond ring, with one stone in the center and a silver band.

"Do you think you could make me the happiest Avian-America alive and wear this ring?" I just nodded, still shocked. I mean, a minute ago we had been dancing and laughing hysterically, and then suddenly Fang was on one knee, almost proposing to me.

He slid the ring on my finger and then stood up, kissing me softly, as the rain started to pour around us.

"So does this mean I'm officially yours or something?" I spoke against his lips as we sat on a bench, watching the rain fall.

He smiled, "Exactly," and kissed me once again.

As we watched the storm roll back in, our eyes caught the first of the sun rising up over the treetops, catching the water on the lake and the falling raindrops.

"You know what?" Fang turned to me, waiting for me to continue. "I'm kinda glad it rained on my parade."

"Really? Why?" He gave me a smug look and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

I touched the promise ring on my finger and whispered, "Cause I get to kiss you on Christmas morning in the rain, silly."

"Ah. So Merry Christmas to me?"

I giggled, leaning in closer as he did the same, "Yes. A very Merry Christmas to you."

_I don't want the world to see me  
Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am…_

**Songs:**

"**Your Man" by Josh Turner **

"**Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls**


	13. Field Day

**FANG POV**

Do you want to be let in on a little secret that I have? All right. Come closer. Noooo, a little bit closer than that. All right. Here it is:

I hate Field Day. Yeah? Didn't expect that coming, huh? And unfortunately, for me, Nudge just wouldn't shut up about it.

"Omgah! I'm so excited! I love field day! You can run around and splash people and run races and see if you can beat that four-legged kid and-"

"Nudge?" Max interrupted her.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up. We're headed there." With that, Nudge had dropped her one-person conversation and resumed bouncing along to the music playing in Max's car.

Max turned onto some random road as I sat in the passenger seat, gloomy. Emma, Iggy, Gazzy, Angel, Nudge, Max, and I were headed towards the local park, where Lerner's Field Day was taking place.

"So, Iggy, are you going to win me a teddy bear with those big, strong arms of yours?" Emma giggled, grabbing Iggy's bicep and squeezing it gently. Iggy jumped, having been deeply engrossed in reading some chemistry book (made in Brail of course).

"What? Oh, yeah. Of course," Iggy turned his head to Max in the front seat, "Aren't you running the dunking booth?" Max rolled her eyes and I smirked.

"Yeah. Cause _someone_ signed me up for it." I could feel the daggers coming from her stare.

"Hey, if I have to suffer, you're going down with me," I snickered as we drove up to the giant parking lot. Ahead of us was playground equipment, bathrooms, picnic tables, and then the huge carnival event. There were pony rides (_cringe_), cotton candy makers (okay, so that wasn't half bad), and giant white and red striped tents. Down the giant path full of kids, teens, and parents, I spotted the dunking booth already set up, water sloshing out of the tank. Looking over to Max, I motioned to her new seat for the next six hours, and she flipped me the bird before slamming the car door.

**Three hours later…**

I, somehow through this whirlwind of chaos, was placed at the DJ booth. Yeah, I know. I figured it would be the balloon-making thing, which I don't know how to do, but with my luck I _would_ be placed with kids screaming for giraffes.

But no, instead, I was getting to choose my own songs, although they had to be "kid friendly," which kind of narrowed my choices down a bit. …Okay, a lot.

Right now, I was blaring "Shake It" by Metro Station over the loudspeakers, and every so often parents would give me this narrowed-eye glare. I would just shrug, give them an innocent look, like I had no control over what we played. Throughout the song, though, I had girls looking at me suggestively and I feared that Max would come and beat the crap out of them.

But, fortunately, she was too busy being dunked by our soccer coach, who was thoroughly enjoying himself. It kind of creeped me out, and it kind of pissed me off. Why was he getting so happy about dunking a girl in water? I gritted my teeth, but kept my angry and vulgar comments to myself as little kids passed by, and looked over to where Gazzy, Angel, and Nudge were playing some game.

**NUDGE POV**

"CHEATER!" Gazzy pouted at me and slammed down a ticket on the booth, "I want a rematch."

I shrugged, smirking at my younger brother (well, he might as well be), and handed the worker one of my tickets to play another game. Angel groaned, turning in another one of her ticket as well, and gripped the handlebars. We were playing some game that had a wolf-looking thing seated atop a pedestal and each person had a type of spray gun, and you were supposed to spray the tiny little target, thus sending the stuffed animal up on his pedestal. The first to get to the top was the winner.

And I was kicking Gazzy's butt at it.

But I kept those snide comments to myself and prepared myself for the game.

"Don't you think that looks like an Eraser?" Angel giggled, pointing towards the stuffed wolverine, hence Lerner's mascot.

I looked closely at the animal and grinned, "Yeah, it does. A cracked-up version of one."

We were sitting there on those red, shiny seats that swivel around when a voice appeared behind me,

"What's that?"

"JESUS!" I squealed, turning in my seat, as Sam eyed me oddly. Him? Eyeing _me_ oddly? Hmph. He's the one that dressed up like some hippie and a cross-dresser, and _he's_ giving me odd looks?

"Nope, it's Sam," He grinned and I rolled my eyes at his horrible joke, "But anyway, what were you talking about?"

"How the wolverine looks like an Eraser. _So_?" Angel snapped at him and I smirked.

Sam stood blank for a moment, his eyes roaming back and forth from the animal to us, "Okay. I know I might be a tad bit crazy-"

"A _tad_ bit?" Gazzy mumbled under his breath and Angel giggled.

"-But that looks nothing like a pencil-topper."

Pencil-topper? What was he- ohhhhhhh. "No, not a pencil. Erasers are these evil things from the School that come after experiments when they run away," Angel explained and Sam had the "OHHH I get it" look on his face.

"I see. Well, okay. Thanks. I was just really confused why the stuffed animal had the resemblance to a pencil. So, can I play?" He grinned strangely and I backed away a bit on my seat.

Angel sighed, "Sam, go and annoy Max. We don't have time for your shenanigans." I gaped at the fourth grader, wondering how she knew such big words like that, but nodded my head at her comment.

"Yeah, Sam, just go bother Max."

He narrowed his eyes, "Fine. But I could help you out, ya know. I can control metal." He jerked his thumb up to the game, and almost immediately my wolverine had hit the top, the machine making some chiming music and the lights flashing wildly.

Suddenly, when I turned back to ask him how he had done that, he was gone. I looked to Gazzy and Angel and saw Angel's mouth open in shock.

"I thought he could only breath underwater and teleport?"

I shrugged, watching as Sam made his way over to Max at the dunking booth. My eyes caught Fang and I almost burst out laughing. The look on his face was priceless, as he watched Sam make his way over to Max.

**FANG POV:**

I kept my eyes on Sam as he walked away from the younger members of the Flock and towards the dunking booth. Oh, great. I glanced up and down the carnival's main aisle, searching for Dr. M.

That way, if Sam even thought about talking to Max, I could be there in a second without getting yelled at to watch the DJ booth. Or I could put Nudge in duty- wait- no. God knows what would happen if I let her have control of the music. It'd be Jonas Brothers and Leona Lewis somehow mixed together.

I shuddered at the thought and quickly hid the Jonas Brothers CD they had given me, just in case.

**MAX POV**

Holy. Crap. Who knew there were this many kids who could hit a target? I had always judged the little munchkins as stupid and having less attention span than a fly, but now with every ounce and fiber of my body drenched… I was rethinking that concept.

"Hey, Max!" Sam's voice appeared to my right, so I decided to chat with him while some kid paid for his two tennis balls.

"Hey, Sam. You having fun?" I asked, dipping my legs into the water as I situated myself on the board.

He nodded, watching as the kid threw a ball that hit the cage and bounced back. He started to say something, but my hearing was cut short as the next ball landed straight on the target, and I felt the board collapse from underneath me.

Yay. Here I go again.

I splashed down into the water, swirling around in it for a few moments to make the kid feel like he had actually done something special, and then started to rise when I felt for my ring.

Oh, my God. It was gone. My ring that Fang had given me was _gone_! I came back up to the surface, grabbed a breath, and went back down for it. I swirled around, searching through the five-foot deep dunking booth's interior, my hand sliding across the smooth bottom.

Oh, God. Fang would kill me if I lost it. _I_ would kill me if I lost it. Man… where was it?

**FANG POV**

I was shuffling through a CD stash when I heard a shout erupt from on down the aisle. I glanced up, watching as a little boy was excitedly jumping around because he had dunked Max. I huffed, putting away a few more cases and tried to decide whether to play some new Rihanna or a band I had just recently found called There for Tomorrow.

"FANG!" A loud, obnoxious voice was screaming, heading my way, and I looked up to see that idiot Sam headed straight for me.

"What, Sam? Come to ask me for Max's hand in marriage?" I rolled my eyes and leaned over my booth towards him.

"No! It's Max! She didn't come up! We think she hit her-" I didn't hear the rest of his sentence and frankly, I didn't care to. I had heard all that I needed to. I took off running, slamming through the crowd that had grown around the dunking booth.

"Max! MAX!" I screamed, smacking on the bottom part of the booth that was covered, hoping to get her attention in case she was out of it or something. But what if she was having a brain attack? "MAX!" I tried again before running around to the back of the booth and climbing onto the board that held Max up.

I could see her at the bottom, frantically twisting and turning around, her face screwed up in pain.

I reached my hand down to get her, my fingers grasping onto her shirt, when I heard Sam say, "Lights out," and then suddenly I was falling on top of Max, the water swirling around me.

She quickly shot to the other side, her eyes wide with terror, and then she noticed it was me. "Fang!" I could make out from under the water, and we both quickly shot up to the surface. "FANG! What on earth are you doing?" She shrieked at me, splashing water into my face angrily. "What was that about?"

"Sam came over and said you had drowned and-"

"No! I had dropped my ring, you idiot!" She slapped me upside my head and slipped on the ring before sliding herself out of the dunking booth.

I climbed out carefully, not wanting to look like a total dimwit in front of everyone. "All right, guys, the booth is closed for right now. It'll be open later," Max waved away the crowds and they soon moved on, realizing that there was truly nothing to see here.

Thank God.

I came around from the back of the booth and placed an arm around Max's shoulder, "Well, at least you're safe." I smiled half-heartedly at her and she turned, eyes narrowing at me.

"I wish I could say the same for you."

"Oh, come on. I didn't-"

"You jumped into the dunking booth, on top of me, and would have almost drowned me if I actually had been in trouble." Max rolled her eyes at my carelessness and I winced inside.

Damn it. And I was just beginning to get things under control.

"Well, all I heard was Sam screaming and then everyone was rushing around the booth, so I didn't know what to think. And would you have rather had leave you be?" I smirked as she opened her mouth to respond, but snapped it shut when she realized that I was right.

Iggy and Emma walked up, faces confused as they asked, "What happened here? People kept grumbling as they passed us. Something about the dunking booth and some overexcited teenager?" Iggy smirked, looking over towards me, and yet another glare was wasted.

"Shove it, Ig. At least I didn't get stuck in a tree." He gave me a sour look and we all headed back down to the DJ booth, where Nudge was standing, drooling over some CD.

Max motioned for her to let me back behind the stand and Nudge groaned, "But I wanted to see if I could mix 'Bleeding Love' and 'Burnin Up' together!"

I kept the comments to myself, but I just wanted to scream, "SEE WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" but no one would understand.

Still… see what I'm talking about?

**AN: This chapter is dedicated to Ryan McDonald, who tragically lost his life on August 21st, 2008, due to the shootings at Central High School.**


	14. To the Prom

**FANG POV**

Iggy and I stood at the staircase, waiting on Emma and Max to come down from their rooms.

"We've got two hours until prom starts and I would like to go get something to eat!" Iggy shouted up the stairs and I snickered.

"Shove it, Ig!" Emma screamed back down and I chuckled. Iggy rolled his eyes and took a seat on the carpeted stairs. I joined him, my chin resting in my hands, and watched other couples climb into limos outside the double doors. Our limo- a black stretch courtesy of Dr. Martinez- was waiting in line behind four cars. If Max and Emma weren't down here in a couple minutes, I'm sure that limo driver would ditch us. Walking to the prom didn't sound very fun, either.

"Hey, boys." Emma giggled behind us and we turned quickly to take a look- well, not exactly in Iggy's case- at our dates. My jaw dropped to the floor as Max descended the stairs. Her dress was a deep fuchsia color, with bits of blue and dark purple weaved in. As she moved, the light caused the colors to change and mix with one another. The word 'chameleon' came to mind as she finally reached me.

"So, what do you think?" She spun around a few times, showing me the whole dress, and I grinned wider.

"You look amazing." She blushed but tried to hide it by messing with her hair. I grabbed her hand, drawing her towards the doors, where our limo was pulling up.

"What is it?" Emma asked Iggy as we slid out into the humid night.

"A black stretch Hummer, my dear," He kissed her on the cheek and then helped her into the car. I took Max's hand, doing the same, and then shut the door behind us. "To Olive Garden, good sir!" Iggy called to the driver, who just shook his head and chuckled, pulling off into the night.

**Later…**

The minute we pulled up to the hotel where our prom was being held all we heard was music.

_I'm bringing sexy back  
Them other fuckers don't know how to act  
Come let me make up for the things you lack  
Cause you're burning up I gotta get it fast_

Iggy groaned, "I hate this song!" Emma giggled, tugging him out of the Hummer, and I turned to Max.

"Do we seriously have to go? They're playing dirty pop music!" Max just rolled her eyes, pushing me out of the car, and slid down onto the ground behind me. I gripped her hand in mine as we made our way inside the doors.

The banner above our heads read _A Wish Come True_, with stars and blinking lights draped everywhere. I have to admit, they did a pretty good job. You would have never known that this was some stuffy hotel lobby.

Max, Emma, Iggy, Katie, Nathan, and I found a table and the girls dropped their purses off.

"So… what now? It's not time to dance. What do we do for another hour while we wait for everyone to show up?" Katie, Emma and Max's best friend, questioned, leaning into Nathan, who shrugged.

"Let's go wait for people at the door." So we did, along with the other thirty people that were already there. Max and I really weren't looking for anybody. We were too busy sharing kisses underneath a star that was having light spasms.

"God, you two! Can't you wait until prom's over to get a room?" Nathan laughed and I shot him the bird.

"Hey, Max!" Sam grinned, shooting through the doorway towards us. I curled my fist up, my other hand placed on Max's lower back.

"Hi, Sam. Who are you here with?" Max came off as kind, but I knew inside she was scheming.

"Uh… nobody," Sam glanced around the room quickly, even though it was almost empty, "I was wondering if you would… dance with me, later. I mean, I know you're going with _him_," He jerked his thumb towards me and I grit my teeth, "but it'd still be life-changing to dance with me, huh?"

"Oh, sorry, Sam, but I'll probably be with Fang the whole night. Maybe I can catch up with you sometime, when he's had enough of me." She smiled sweetly at Sam, who's eyes flashed with the star's light above us.

"But… why won't you dance with me?"

"I'll be busy. Sorry." Sam edged closer and I did the same, eyeing him with the I-will-kill-you-if-you-touch-her look, but surprisingly he didn't back down. Hmm… he must have gotten brave somewhere between last week and tonight.

"I'm giving you one last chance, Max…" Sam hissed and I pulled Max away.

"And I'm giving you one last chance to get the hell away from her." I growled, stepping up in front of him, and he glared at me.

"Whatever. Enjoy your prom, Maximum." Sam whispered, barely loud enough so we could hear it, and stalked off towards the tables. Max rolled her eyes, leaning against me, as people flooded through the doors. Behind us, Justin Timberlake was still blaring, the last chorus wrapping up to an end.

"So, Fang, are you bringing sexy back?" Max giggled, her brown eyes looking up into mine.

I grinned, "Bring it back? Why, I have no need. I never lost it."

**Later…**

Max and I were wrapped up in the middle of about five hundred other people, swaying to the music, as the lights above us swirled. The song playing ended, so nearly every couple stopped rocking back and forth, and stood there awkwardly. A couple of beats played, sounding like hip-hop music, before someone whooped.

_I say he so sweet  
Make her wanna lick the rapper_

By now, the whole senior class was partying, Lil Wayne's beats thumping the dance floor. She was driving me crazy. She kept digging her hips into mine and it's not like I could just step away from it. I'd be even crazier to do that. To take my mind off her dancing- which was growing really, really, _really_ hard- so there were no incidents, I kept my mind on the music. All right. Lollipops. They tasted okay, but usually left a horrible aftertaste in your mouth if they were cheap.

_She lick me  
Like a lollipop_

Okkkaayyyy, not helping. Suddenly, there was just beats and then it was over. Thank God, I was just about to ruin prom night. But at least I wasn't the only one; I saw plenty of other guys keeping their hands in their pockets.

"Yo!" Nate grabbed my shoulder as another song started playing. "We're on in four. Let's go." I kissed Max quickly as she headed to the bathroom and then whispered to Emma to watch out for Sam, knowing that she could take care of him better than anyone else.

I told her this as she laughed, but Iggy glowered at me, "Excuse me? What about moi? I play on the freakin football team!"

"And you're also going to be up there on stage. Won't be much of a help, now will it?" I replied and he paused.

"Hmm… I've always wanted to know how hard I could throw my drumsticks and aim perfectly, though." We laughed but then it died down, letting the music cover our silence for a bit.

"So did you ever find out if he was behind the ring thing or not, after what Nudge told you?" Emma questioned and I nodded, scanning the area for Sam as Max came back from the bathroom, heading towards us.

"He can control metal, so I know he had something to do with Max's ring." I knew that she really wouldn't have drowned, but still there was the fact that he _could_ control metal. God knows what he was planning next.

"Hey, you two," Max gently hit me on the shoulder, "Aren't you supposed to be backstage?" My eyes widened. I had totally forgotten about that! I didn't even answer Max, but followed Iggy as he took off for the stage entrance door.

The lady hosting our prom- I think she was some washed out famous person- announced us to the crowd. They cheered, of course, since all of them had seen us play at the talent show and then some at the after-party. Jason strummed a chord on his Fender as a single light shone across the stage, painting out backs in blue.

_Check yes Juliet  
Are you with me?  
Rain is falling down on the sidewalk  
I won't go until you come outside_

_Check yes Juliet  
Kill the limbo  
I'll keep tossing rocks at your window  
There's no turning back for us tonight…_

I finally had a chance to look out at the audience. My friend Cory was out there, along with Bo and Seth. I spotted Foster and his date Sarah near the very back, dancing together. Against the back wall were the teachers, who were kind of bopping along to the music, since none of them had really listened to pop/rock in the last twenty years.

I finally found Max, dancing with Emma close to the front of the stage. She caught my eye and waved, then continued dancing with Emma. I smiled and pushed on into the rest of the song, my hearing tuned into Nate's guitar slamming along with my vocals.

_Run baby run  
Forever we'll be  
You and me…_

**Later…**

The bass was thumping at my feet, sending shockwaves up and down my body. Max was running her hands over my shoulders, when suddenly she was gone. I snapped my eyes up from where Max had been standing to find Sam yelling at her. I quickly pulled Sam off of the dance floor and towards the tables.

"What do you think you're doing? I told you not to touch her again!" Max was behind me, tugging at my arm, telling me not to worry about Sam.

"Like hell I'm not! He just ripped you apart from me for no good reason," I turned back to Sam, where he was standing there, smug, "Now what do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He grinned, his eyes flickering over to Max, before they returned to face me.

I growled, stepping forward, "You're not touching her. What part of that don't you understand?"

"Fang! Come on!" Max tried again, but I held up a finger to quiet her.

"See! That's what I'm talking about, Fang. You don't show Max respect. All you do is boss her around. She needs a _man_. She needs someone who will treat her equally, not be some kind of sexist pig." Sam snapped at me, and I curled my hand into a fist. By now, Iggy and Jason had come over, wondering what was up.

"Oh, and cheating on her with her enemy is _better_? Is that showing her 'respect', because if it is, then _please_, by all means, tell me what the hell _I'm _doing wrong?"

"That's all in the past now! The only reason I ever dated Lissa was because I wanted to get in her pants! Max didn't want to have sex, so I just thought Lissa was the best way. God knows she gave it out like candy to babies."

There was a giant pause before Iggy spoke up, "I thought you didn't know what had happened, Sam? You told us that you didn't remember." I watched as Sam's "plan" fell apart: his eyes grew wider, he kept gulping, and his hands were cringing around each other.

"Uhh… no. I was just making that stuff up. I really don't know why I cheated on Max. I just needed a better excuse than 'I don't remember'." The only thing I saw next was a flash of Max and then the imprint of a hand on Sam's face.

"You bastard! You cheated on me because you couldn't keep it in your pants? How sick and perverted _are_ you? How dare you call yourself a gentleman, wait, scratch that, how dare you even call yourself a _man_?" Max was fuming and I noticed that her hand was ready for another smack. But did I step in her way?

Of course not! As soon as Max punched Sam again, one of the teachers rushed over and stopped Max from taking another swing at the pig.

"What is going on here?" Mrs. Kemp stood between Sam and Max, her eyes narrowing at our group.

"Sam dragged me off of the dance floor and then basically told me that I should be dating him instead of Fang. Cause apparently he's 'the best thing to ever come into my life.'" Max rolled her eyes as she quoted the last part with her two fingers. Mrs. Kemp glanced back at Sam, lifting one eyebrow, and then grabbed his arm roughly.

"Boy, you sure have stirred up enough trouble for one night. I'm sending you back to the school. You can think this entire thing over in your dorm." With that, Mrs. Kemp dragged Sam off, but not without him turning around and giving us that really creepy look that usually means something bad. But, of course, nothing bad happened. The roof didn't cave in or explode. Thank God, cause I'm sure Sam was capable of it.

Max gritted her teeth, leaning onto my chest as I hugged her close. "Idiot."

I grinned, kissing the top of her head, before pulling her back to the dance floor, "Come on. We've still got an hour to blow before it's over." Iggy whooped, running and sliding over to the dance floor, where he hit a couple of girls that were dancing in a circle.

"Hey, fifty bucks they play the Soulja Boy next!"

_Yoooouuuu!  
Soulja boy I tell 'em  
Hey I got a new dance for ya'll called the soulja boy_

"IGGY!"

**Later…**

"Now, to present this year's Hardin Valley High School prom king and queen!" The washed up lady- Jennifer Lopez- squealed excitedly. The band was behind the curtain, ready to play for the king and queen's dance, so we were just listening, not really caring who won.

"Your choice for Hardin Valley High School's prom king is…" You could hear the shredding of paper and then, "Bo Bowers!" Ahhh. Good ol' Bo. People were clapping and whistling as I heard Bo tromp across the stage.

"And now, ladies and gentleman, your choice for Hardin Valley High School's prom queen is…" There was one of those long dramatic pauses, just like in all those high school shows- like Dawson's Creek, ya know?- and then Lopez spoke. "…Sarah Belle!" Girls were shrieking and people were whooping as Sarah stepped onstage. The only way I could tell was that her heels made that little clipping sound as she headed across the metal stage.

"Congratulations, you two! Now, let's have Echo come out one last time and play you a song!" Wasn't she the entertainer? I rolled my eyes, but straightened out myself as the curtain lifted up.

_And I'd give up forever to touch you  
Cause I know that you feel me somehow  
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be  
And I don't want to go home right now_

I immediately locked eyes with Max, as the couples who were dancing circled around her. I could tell that she felt out of place. She was, in fact, the only one alone in a circle of lovers. I felt a tightening in my chest as I watched the other couples, lost in each other, and I was up here singing and missing every bit of it. This was senior prom. This was supposed to be the greatest night of our lives. So why was I letting Max and I be separated, while everyone else enjoyed the last song?

Suddenly, I hopped down from the stage, the cord on the microphone carrying me so far out onto the dance floor. Couples parted, making a line straight to Max, and she laughed, walking towards me as I kept singing.

_And I don't want the world to see me  
Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am_

She wrapped her arms around my shoulders, kissing my lips quickly before I had to sing again, and leaned her head against my chest. The lights above us were making the glitter in her hair sparkle, the tiny speckles glowing in my eyes.

The guitars played and strummed on as the tempo grew faster and faster. Finally it grew up to just a long stretch of Jason's guitar solo, and then suddenly it paused, if only for a quick second. I took in a deep breath, kissing Max on the lips quickly.

_And I don't want the world to see me  
Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am_

As we were waiting for our limo, Max leaned in and kissed me hard on the lips.

"So, what was that for?" I grinned down at her. She shrugged, "I dunno. I guess for singing to me and getting off of the stage to dance with me."

I smiled, "My pleasure, dear lady." I leaned in for another kiss, but Iggy smacked his hand on my shoulder, jostling Max and I away from each other.

"Yo, bro! You know what time it is?"

"Time to take these heels off?" Emma complained and Max nodded next to me.

"No! It's time for the after-party!" Iggy exclaimed as he opened the door to the limo for us. I groaned, noticing how bad my feet were hurting already from dancing and standing up all night. But we did get to change our clothes and there was supposed to be water fights around two in the morning and other fun stuff to do.

"You wanna go?" I asked Max as our driver pulled out of the parking lot. She nodded, smiling up at me, and gripped my hand in hers.

_And I don't want the world to see me  
Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am…_

**The songs are: SexyBack by Justin Timerblake, Lollipop by Lil Wayne, Check Yes Juliet by We the Kings, and Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls.**


	15. You're Still the One

**FANG POV**

After the after-party, Max and I fell back onto her bed.

"I'm too hyped up from the party." Max announced after a few quiet moments. Outside her door, I could hear other couples running around and laughing. I sat up, clicking on Max's stereo, to hear some old country love song.

_Looks like we made it  
Look how far we've come my baby  
We might have took the long way  
We knew we'd get there someday_

I was about to change it when Max grabbed my arm, pulling me back onto the bed with her.

"Keep it on this. I like this song." She whispered, her face just mere inches from mine.

I smiled, kissed her lips softly, and replied, "Of course, my dear. Anything for you."

We kissed each other gently for a few more moments before Max rose up and escaped into the bathroom. I sighed, kicking off my shoes. We had come back here to change before the party, so I was comfortable in my shorts and T-shirt. Breathing out deeply, I laid back onto her bed.

I was almost asleep, listening to the song play, when the bathroom door creaked open. I cracked open my eyes, watching as Max crossed the room, her hair now free from bobby pins. I sat up, running my arms around her waist as she came closer.

"Fang?" She murmured into my hair as she kissed me.

"Hmm?"

"Will you help me take my dress off?" She questioned and my eyes grew wide. Did she mean what I thought she meant…? I looked up at her and got my answer.

_You're still the one that I love  
The only one I dream of  
You're still the one I kiss good night_

"Yes." I answered quietly and pulled her into a passionate kiss. She wrapped her fingers into my hair, tugging me closer to her. We broke apart and I turned her in my arms, my shaking hands gripping the zipper on her dress. Max glanced back at me, probably wondering what was taking so long, and she smiled at me.

I melted then and slowly slid the zipper down, listening to the music mix with the metallic sound.

**4:30 a.m.**

I awoke to the sounds of screaming. Guns shots rang out and what sounded like a bomb exploded underneath me. I quickly glanced at the clock before grabbing a pair of jeans to slide on. What the hell was going on?

Max was right behind me as I headed out into the hall, busting down Iggy's door. Gazzy and him were gone, nothing but disheveled bedspreads were to be found.

"Fang, come on," Max grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hallway, towards the stairs, "We've got to find them!" We passed students lying on the floors drowning in puddles of blood.

"What the hell is going on?" I shouted, eyes widening as we passed more dead bodies. I took in hair and skin color to make sure there were no fatalities to the Flock.

"I don't know," Max gasped, pausing as we reached a hallway that had been destroyed by a bomb, "I don't know what's going on. I don't know where the Flock is. We have no idea what to do in this kind of situation, because we're usually the people busting down doors and causing havoc and-" I covered Max's mouth as my hearing picked up on footsteps, coming slowly from the lobby. Max's eyes reached mine as a tear slid out of them.

I reached up and wiped it away, pressing my lips to her forehead, before whispering, "It's okay. Nothing's going to happen to us. To you."

She nodded but of course, she was still scared to death. Anybody would be in this situation, even I. I mean, our school was under an attack, and already at least twenty students were dead. Who knows how many others were?

"Max! Fang!" A voice exclaimed through the darkness of the hallway, and immediately my worry was lightened.

"Angel!" Max squealed, running full-force and capturing our little girl into her arms. I ran towards the two, hugging and kissing Angel quickly as Max sobbed into her hair.

"Oh, thank God, Angel. I didn't know where you guys were and I was so worried."

Angel smiled, "It's okay. I was sent to find you two. Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, Emma, and Nathan are hiding in a storage closet about two floors up."

Max and I heaved a sigh of relief as Angel quickly led us up towards the third floor. We slipped through the hallways silently, stepping through broken glass. There were bullet holes, splattered blood, and splintered furniture everywhere. Many walls and floors were blackened by soot or covered with globs of plastic from the fluorescent lights above.

Suddenly, the lights flickered, and we were cast in pitch-black darkness. Even with my night-vision, I could hardly make out anything. The warmth of Angel's hand was all I had, as I pulled her towards me, and reached out for Max.

Empty air was all I found.

"Max?" I whispered, waving my hand around to find her. No response. "Max!" I shouted this time, not caring if the shooter heard me. Still, nothing. Somewhere down the corridor I heard something fall, but other than that, it was eerily silent.

"Fang," Angel whimpered below me, "where's Max?"

"Can you not pick her up?" I started moving in an uneven pattern, randomly turning and changing my pace, as I searched for Max. My empty hand felt around for anything that could bring us light, but I found nothing.

"No. Right when the lights went off I couldn't sense her anymore. It's like she's just disappeared."

"You can't find her even around the school?"

Angel paused for a moment. "No. I can't sense her at all. I can feel Iggy and the rest of them, though."

Hearing that news almost caused me to throw up with nervousness. I wanted the answers, fast. I wanted to know where Max was. _Now_.

And then, just like that, the lights were back on, and I realized I was mere inches from an eight-year old whose face had been blown off. I covered my mouth to keep the vomit down and kept moving, pulling Angel through the catastrophe. As we reached the end of our hallway and turned into another, I noticed that the entire left corner of the school was on fire, the smoke starting to seep in through the hallways.

Our footsteps rang through the emptiness and sounded like gunshots as we ran up the stairs, towards the rest of the Flock. Once we reached them, I would drop off Angel, and then return down there to the death scene to find Max.

"Where have you guys been?" Iggy demanded as we slipped inside the quite large closet. He paused for a moment before continuing, "And where's Max?"

"We don't know. The lights shut off and she just disappeared," I answered, letting Angel run over to hug Nudge, "I'm going back out there and looking for her. She couldn't have gone too far."

Iggy nodded, standing up, "Then I'm going too," He turned to his girlfriend, "Emma, you watch the rest of them. Make sure they don't leave. We'll be back in a little bit with Max." He kissed her quickly and followed me out of the closet.

**5:17 a.m.**

Iggy patted my shoulder as I sat outside the school on the curb. Police lights flashed and another ambulance pulled up into the driveway. The school had been evacuated around five and now all the survivors were pouring out of the school.

None of them were Max.

The rest of the Flock sat beside me, crying and sniffling, as classmates were wheeled by on gurneys. Out of the ten that had passed us, only two were breathing.

"Where is Max?" Emma whispered my thoughts, her voice shaking as she hugged Iggy tighter. That was my question. Where was Max, now? Was she still here- with us- or somewhere else? I bit my lip to keep the sobs down and hid my head in my hands. Where was Max?

**5:18 a.m.**

**Third person POV**

Sam watched Max happily as she slept. He held up the container of darts, wondering what was so special about this pack. He would have to ask Jeb when he got back to the School with his prize.

Suddenly, his princess coughed, and he stepped closer, watching intently as she opened her eyes.

"Sam?" She questioned, her voice scratchy, as she tried to sit up and found that she could not.

"Yes, Max?" He answered smugly as she tugged at the restraints that held her down.

"What are you doing? Why am I here? Where are Fang and Angel?" Max cried out, rubbing her wrists raw as she tugged harder at the chains. Sam moved to where he stood in front of her, his nose almost touching hers, and answered,

"You, my dear, are here because you are supplying the School. Fang and Angel are outside, with the rest of the ones who survived- and the ones who didn't."

Her eyes shot up wide, tears shining in them, as she searched his face.

"You didn't answer my first question." She growled, pulling away from him as he gripped her chin.

"You're a smart girl, Max. I intend you to find out that by yourself." With that, he forced his lips onto hers and kissed her hard.

**5:23 a.m.**

**Fang POV**

A police officer stepped up to us, pointed to the school, and quickly asked us if we knew what was wrong with the boiler room's door.

"What are you talking about?" Iggy wondered aloud and the officer sighed.

"The door won't open. Since you look like seniors, I figured you'd know if something's wrong with it."

"No, nothing's wrong-" I paused in mid-sentence and shot up, running towards the school at full speed.

"What are you doing?" Iggy yelled as he chased after me, followed by Emma.

"Max might be locked up in there!" I yelled as we pushed past the officer's at the door. S.W.A.T. teams, firefighters, and EMTs were all crowding the halls, observing the massacre. Although Emma and Iggy couldn't see the disaster, they could definitely smell it. Out of the corner of my eye, Emma covered her nose and mouth, gagging loudly as we passed a group of dead students.

Finally we reached the basement, shoving past some firefighters, and I pounded on the door. "MAX! Max, it's Fang! Let me in, please!" I begged, tears stinging my eyes, but no one answered. I turned on my heel, grabbing Iggy's shoulder. "Ig, pick the lock."

"I don't know if I can. I don't think it's the lock that's causing the problem," He spoke as a loud thump came from inside the room. I glanced from the door to him, confused. "From what I'm hearing inside, someone's definitely in there. But since the firefighters have already tried to get in, I'd say something's blocking the door from the inside," Iggy explained. I kicked the door in frustration and sighed.

"Okay, so how do we get in? It's a boiler room. Not exactly easy access."

**5:26 a.m.**

**Max POV**

I cried, feeling completely helpless as Sam continued to kiss me. If you could call it kissing.

"Why are you doing this? Why did you trap me in here?" I asked him as his hands ran down my neck. Outside I could hear voices, but because of the thickness of the walls, it was hard to make out whose. So, thinking of when I watched those hundreds of news reports, I did the only thing any good damsel in distress would do.

Screamed my heart out.

"HELP!" I shrieked, thrashing against Sam so he wouldn't put anything over my mouth to keep me quiet.

"MAX!" Someone shouted back, muffled, but I could make it out.

"PLEASE HELP ME!" I continued, but Sam sucker-punched me, my cries shortened. "Stop it, Sam! Why are you doing this?"

"You wanna know why, Max? Really?" I nodded my head and listened for any signs that someone would be breaking into the room. I really needed a knight in shining armor.

Sam smirked, running a finger across my cheek lightly, "The School wants a new experiment. So I was sent here to entertain you for a bit, let you feel all good about yourself and your stupid boyfriend and family, and then drop the bomb on you. No pun intended on that, either," His eyes gazed upwards, where the ceiling was partially damaged from a bomb that had exploded.

"So while your friends out there trying to barge in, which I'd say will be some time since the boiler is oh-so conveniently placed in front of the door…" Sam dragged out his speech as a sound erupted behind the door. "…I'm going to be supplying the School with two new experiments."

"What are you talking about?" I demanded, giving him the special "Max would like to kill you now" look.

"Max, dear, you should be happy. You're going to become the mother of my child in just a few short months, if this plan goes well."

My stomach and just about every other part of my body dropped, including my jaw, and I hurriedly looked at the door. Whoever was behind that damn door better hurry up, otherwise….

**5:32 a.m.**

**Fang POV**

I tapped my foot impatiently as Iggy pressed his ear to the door, listening for weak spots in it. Basically, places where I could kick down the door and I wouldn't break my leg into a million pieces.

Unfortunately for us at the moment, Lerner's had been equipped for disasters such as hurricanes and floods, so a lot of their doors and walls were sealed up tight.

And I mean _tight_. Iggy had informed me that not even bits of dirt could get through the crack in the door, considering there wasn't a crack. So while Iggy was feeling up on the door, I was anxiously pacing around the small hallway. The police officers and EMTs had left already, gone to deal with other parts of the school, since we had assured him that the door was just jammed accidentally. Which it wasn't, but that was our point. We didn't need the police there while we dealt with whoever was inside. And I was praying to however many God's there are that it was Max inside, and just her.

Although the situation was arguing against my hope.

Iggy sighed angrily, standing up and running his fingers along the edges of the door, "I can't find any weak spots. This school is even more equipped then, well, the School."

"Which means…?"

Iggy sighed again, his blind eyes landing on me perfectly, "No way in. Unless we can convince whoever's inside there to let us in."

I growled, kicking at the door with my foot in anger, but nothing happened. I ran a hand over my face and felt a bit of Max's lip-gloss on my lips.

"Well, we've got to find a way in there. The person inside can't understand what we're saying."

Iggy rolled his eyes, "Fang, if they wanted to be rescued, I think they would have made a bigger effort."

"So, what are you saying? The person inside wants to be locked up in a boiler room?" I gruffed, a hint of annoyance on my words, and Iggy shrugged.

"Or the person's being held inside against their will. The cops still haven't found the shooter."

My stomach dropped, finally figuring out the puzzle we had been trying to solve for so long.

"And who would that one person be?" I spoke to Iggy, since it wasn't truly a question, more of a statement. Iggy's sightless eyes widened, knowing exactly whom I was talking about.

"Come on!" Iggy took off down the hallway and started up the basement stairs, "I've got an idea. But I'm going to need your help." I quickly followed, eager to get Max out of that horrid room with the best enemy of all.

**5:40 a.m.**

Iggy and I raced back downstairs with Gazzy, Nudge, and Emma at our sides. Gazzy and Iggy quickly set up the bomb and Nudge went to work with the metal door. She placed both hands on the door, hoping to rip it off its hinges or at least make it weaker so it would be easier for us to get inside.

Suddenly, she gasped, snapping her hands away from the door.

"What? What is it, Nudge?" I asked quickly, rushing to her side. She looked up at me with her huge brown eyes and whispered, "You know how I can find out the history of the last person who touched stuff?" I nodded. "Yeah. It's definitely Sam who's got Max in there."

"All right. Well, get back to work. Iggy and Gaz will be done in just a few min-"

She shook her head, "No, that's not my point. I figured out _why_ he's got her in there."

"Why? What does he want with her?"

She bit her lip, hesitant, but finally blurted out, "He was sent here by the School from the very beginning because they need a new experiment."

"But we destroyed-"

"No. They rebuilt one in Africa."

"Well, if he wanted a new experiment, then why didn't he just take Max? She would be a new experiment to them."

"No, Fang, you're not understanding the situation. Sam was _sent_ here by the School for the perfect opportunity to get Max alone. He's been scheming this whole thing from the start. Even back in Virginia, he's always had a purpose. So Max would trust him when she came here."

"Okay, Nudge, but why didn't he just take her?" I snapped at her, not truly meaning to, but I just needed her to get to the point.

"Sam's going to have sex with Max so the School can have a brand new experiment. A baby." Nudge backed away a bit, watching as my face most likely changed all the colors of the rainbow. Finally, I think I settled on pure red anger, and roared in fury.

"WHAT! HE BETTER NOT LAY A DAMN HAND ON HER OR I WILL KILL HIM! NEVER MIND, I'M KILLING THE ASSHOLE ANYWAY! WHAT IS HE THINKING-" I would have continued, but Emma shoved her scarf in my mouth, silencing my screams. Ohhh, man. Sam better be ready for an ass kicking when I got in there. No, more than a fight. I was going to make sure he would remember how I pummeled his face when he was in Hell. Because I was definitely going to kill him.

"I've got it." Iggy proudly held up his bomb, a bunch of wires poking out of it, and strapped it to the top of the door, which apparently was the weakest possible spot.

He typed in a code and then motioned for us to leave. We all ran and ducked behind the staircase into a bunch of cobwebs. Nudge and Emma were squealing and waving their hands around like they were insane. "Three, two…" Iggy held his breath, "One!" As he was ending the word, the timer made a long beeping sound, and then a flash of white was all I saw. No noise hardly, but it might have been so strong that I hadn't even heard it.

When I opened my eyes back up, the door was off of its hinges and I could hear Max sobbing.

"Leave me alone, Sam! Get off of me! _FANG_!" I snapped into attention, busting through the doorway and shoving aside the ruined boiler.

"SAM! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" I hissed, running toward them both, as Sam drew something from his pocket.

"Say nighty-night, Max," He smirked before jamming the needle into Max's neck. My heart skipped a beat and my blood ran cold. Oh, God. What was in the needle? What did he do to her?

"Max! Max, stay with me!" I exclaimed as I ripped her free from the chair she was chained to. Her eyelids fluttered, her lips opening to gasp for air, and her body convulsed. "What did you do to her?" I hissed up at Sam, my eyes burning with the passion to kill. He just stood above me, smirking down at Max, and then his eyes shifted to mine,

"It's actually all very simple, Fang. My plan did not work, so I was ordered to destroy the subject. I would love to stick around for the funeral and give a speech, but unfortunately I have a meeting to attend." He started to walk off and I agonized over what I should do. I couldn't let him get away, but I couldn't leave Max either.

"Iggy! Help Max!" I shouted before tackling Sam to the ground. I smashed my fist into his face, feeling something break, and he kicked me off.

"I'm warning you, Fang. I'm stronger than I look. Maybe that's what poor little Max should have learned before she tried to test me." Sam grinned, looking frighteningly insane as he moved about carefully in his black trench coat. The normal appearance and overall person Sam had been was gone. In its place was a madman, his only intent to serve others and kill everyone in sight.

He was like the Director all rolled into one ugly looking mutant. "Heard that, Fang." Sam snapped, moving closer with a needle, and my eyes flashed over to where Iggy and Max were. She seemed to be getting worse. I turned my attention back to Sam as he edged closer. I grabbed the gun I had taken from one of the policemen out of my back pocket and aimed it at him.

He started laughing fanatically, his hands slapping his knees, "Seriously? You're going to pussy this way out of this fight? What about slamming my face in? Making me pay?"

I smiled, "There's no need for any of that. I'm just going to place you with the rest of the dead bodies upstairs."

"And how do you plan to kill me? My body is indestructible, Fang, in case you didn't notice." He was right, though. He was physically indestructible.

"What do you get out of this, Sam? What satisfaction do you get out of killing all these people?" He stared at me, wondering what the hell I was doing talking to him, instead of firing the bullets.

"I'm not answering your stupid questions. They're pointless. Now hurry up and try to kill me so I can kill you." He fingered the needle in his hand and I smiled sweetly at him.

"So you're indestructible, right?"

"I think that's been proven already, smart one."

"Angel!" I called and she nodded her head and smiled. She walked over to us and Sam glowered at the little girl, wondering what she was going to do.

Angel's smile dropped immediately and she spoke in a much more serious tone, "Sam, I don't think you belong on this Earth anymore." He nodded, eyes wide as he gripped the needle tighter. "You're going to take the needle and stab your throat."

Sam swallowed, as if he was in control for only a moment, but then obeyed, and suddenly he was on the ground. His skin began to glow black, as if he was rotting from the inside out. Soon, he was just a heaping pile of flesh and bones, his face no longer recognizable. I smirked, throwing an old blanket over him not to scare the little kids, and rushed over to Max's side.

I bent down, running my hand across her forehead, "Max? Can you hear me?" She whimpered, nodding just a tad bit, and then gasped for air again. "Iggy, what's wrong with her?"

Iggy glanced up at me, worry flooding his light blue eyes, "The poison is crushing her lungs. That's why her breathing is labored."

"Can you do anything? Or should we get her to a hospital?" Max heard the word and started shaking her head slightly, but I quieted her down and looked back over to Iggy.

"Fang, I don't think we can do anything. The poison has already reached her lungs. If we had gotten it out before it had reached them, she would have a chance. But now…" His hand trembled as he pushed away a strand of hair away from her sweaty forehead.

I knelt down beside Max, taking her hand in mine, and studied her face. Her brown eyes shone up at me, the only truly alive part of her. But they were wide, like a fish out of water, and she kept convulsing so it was hard to look straight into her eyes.

I found the irises though and kept them in my line of vision, as she breathed in as deeply as she could.

"Fang?"

"Yeah?" I gripped her hand tighter, watching her life fall apart in front of me. This was my entire fault. If I had been faster, I would have realized what was going to happen. If I had completely searched the school instead of obeying the cops telling me to get out… Max might have had a better chance.

No, not might have. She _would_ have. Max would have been standing beside me, enjoying that Sam was finally gone. Max would have been kissing me and wrapping her arms around me.

Tears sliding down my face was my first sign that this was truly going to happen. The second was Max- she closed her eyes and let her head drop back onto the floor.

"I love you, Max," I whispered, kissing her hand, and placed it on the ground. My hands went up to cup her face, my thumbs rubbing her cold cheeks, and she opened her eyes again. "Max, I love you." I repeated, wanting so badly for her to say it back, but nothing came from her lips but painful breaths. I shook my head, clearing away the fuzziness inside it, to glance over at the rest of the Flock. They were just staring in horror, their jaws hanging open and eyes wet with tears.

Max smiled up at me, holding up a shaky finger to point at herself, and then make a peace sign with two fingers.

_Me too_.

Even though she couldn't say it, she could still show me, no matter how pained she was. She loved me too. I nodded my head, showing her that I knew what she meant, and she breathed out deeply again. A sigh of relief. She could… die happy now. I flinched at the word, but there was no reason to scream and run around to find the paramedics. Nothing could be done for her, and if I ran off hunting people, I would have to leave her side.

And I couldn't do that. So I stayed by Max's side, as the minutes passed by.

**6:27 a.m.**

The paramedics had finally arrived to us in the boiler room and were checking over Max. I still held onto her hand, my eyes glued to her form, as they bandaged her up and checked her pulse.

"So what did he inject her with?" One of the men asked me, but I simply pointed to Iggy, who cleared his throat.

"Menincoctal diffusium. It's a type of poison that gets into your lungs and crushes them slowly. But it should have… killed her by now," Iggy choked on the last words, wringing his hands, as if he felt terribly guilty for the accident. I shook my head at him and went back to Max.

"Well, something's definitely going on in there," One man pointed to her chest and I raised an eyebrow. Was he seriously hitting on my dying girlfriend?

"What the hell did you just-"

Iggy punched me in the side, silencing my threat, and covered me, "What are you talking about?"

"The poison's not doing its work. She must have gained some superhuman strength or something. Her heart is pumping extra blood to push the poison out of her system." My own heart skyrocketed and started performing happy dance moves.

"Are you sure?" I questioned the man, who nodded in response. Relief flooded me and I sank back into my chair on the ambulance's wall.

"But the problem is she might have a heart attack from her heart overworking so much. And I know that your hearts beat twice as fast, since Blondie over there," He pointed to Iggy, who grinned, "told me. But it's even beating faster than that. We need to get her to a hospital pronto."


	16. Forty Three White Roses

**FANG POV**

Later that week, as the sun started to settle over the horizon, the fundraiser began. The money was to go to the families in need of help for funeral expenses and set up funds for other students to go to college, in replace of their sons and daughters.

We lost forty-three students and staff that horrible April 8th day. Seventeen of them were staff and the rest of the twenty-six were students. The victims' ages ranged from a mere five or six, to fifty or sixty.

From our group we had lost Cory, Jason- our guitar player, and one of Nudge's friends Andrew.

My attention turned back to the present world, where Iggy tapped me on my shoulder, motioning for me to begin my speech.

The band- minus Jason- was standing on the edge of the stage, a microphone in each hand, to list the names of the victims.

"We're here this evening to honor those who lost their lives this morning. This event shook our whole school- and the world- up and broke us down." I looked up from my paper to the audience. All I could see were clusters of those candles in clear, plastic cups raised everywhere. I couldn't pick out faces, just tears, where they caught against the candlelight.

"Our shooting was the worst in history of the United States. Even in the whole world. But we can't let that bring us down. We know each one of our lost ones are looking down upon us now, wishing that their tears could reach us from Heaven, and how they wished they could hold our hands, to help us through this." I pushed out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding in and glanced over at Nathan as he started his small speech.

"Now we would like to name off each of the victims, and a white balloon will be released with each name." Nathan drew in a breath beside me and began the names.

As he read each of them, a single white balloon was released into the air. Somehow, the balloons were able to hold a single lit candle inside of them. That way, as they rose up into the night sky, we would be able to see them for miles and miles.

Not a word was spoken as the balloons lifted higher and higher up, hopefully reaching up to Heaven, but that was only us students leaning on hope.

If you asked me if I cried, this time I truly wouldn't deny it, and say yes. Yes, I did cry. Not breaking down, sobbing with tissues thrown everywhere, but I felt tears leak down my face. In the background, a soft melody played, and I forced myself to listen to it. The other sounds I heard were heart wrenching- sobs, tiny gasps for air, and somewhere down below a little girl asking where sissy was.

After a few seconds, I realized that the band was heading back to their spots, and I quickly followed, taking my stance at the microphone. Slipping on my guitar- in replace of Jason's loss- I glanced back at Iggy and Nathan, who both nodded. They were ready and so was I.

"As you can tell, we're one band member short tonight," I motioned over to Jason's Fender guitar that sat on stage. Farewells had been written all over it. "So… this song is for Jason and every other person who lost their lives this week." Iggy, Nate, and I had written the song up just hours before the show, and already had every single word and note down. I slid my fingers across the chords; knowing that this song was my new soundtrack

"_Waking up without you  
It doesn't feel right  
To sleep with only memories  
It's harder every night  
Sometimes I think I can feel you breathing on my neck…"_

As the music began, a collage of pictures and videos appeared on the giant screens on the sides of the stage. Photos of the victims, laughing and smiling, posing for yearbook pictures, arms hanging around friend's shoulders, and self-pictures in their bathrooms.

"_Tonight I'm reaching out to the stars  
I think that He owes me a favor  
It doesn't matter where you are  
I'll hold you again…"_

The videos were of them as babies, swimming in bathtubs or laughing and smashing their hands on plastic pianos. Others were of girls dancing crazily with their friends, football players tackling or running for a touchdown, and the teachers' wedding days or dancing in the gym for Homecoming pep rallies.

I kept myself from crying as Jason's photo floated across the screen, his Fender in hand, as he played at Blue Cats, the local bar we had gotten a gig in a few months ago.

How do you handle something like that? Losing a friend, just in an instant.

Jason had been in Financial Management when Sam had burst in, firing his gun at random people.

"_I've got the feeling that this will never cease  
Living in these pictures  
It never comes with ease  
I swear that if I could make this right  
You'd be back by now…"_

I thought back to Cory, too, and how last year he had tried to do a junior prank, trying to beat the seniors for their prank. It never really did pull off, come to think of it. Cory- with his masterful mind- had wanted to flood the whole school, like some sort of swimming pool, and then build a giant pool on the football field.

Unfortunately for him and the rest of us who joined in, one janitor was still left in the school when we sneaked in, so we never had a chance.

"Dude! So unfair!" Cory had exclaimed as we were sent back to the dorms, "Man, we'll definitely get 'em next year! Next year, man!"

Jason had snorted, crossing his arms as we waited on the elevator, "_Riiiighhhttt_, Cory. Whatever ya say, man. But next year they'll have better technology cause of the shit we just pulled."

Cory shrugged, "I'm still gonna do it. Who cares? It's the whole part of the high school experience!"

"_Tonight I'm screaming out to the stars  
He knows He owes me a favor  
It doesn't matter where you are  
You'll be mine again._

_I wish I could hear your voice  
Don't leave me alone in this bed  
I wish I could touch you once more  
Don't leave me alone in this bed…"_

A single video faded onto the screens. It was of the large Maple tree out at the front of the school. On its branches hung forty-three white roses, strung down by black lace ribbons. The video showed the roses swinging in the breeze, the sun catching through the branches briefly, before a flash of pictures appeared. They overlapped each other as the victims smiled out at me.

"_I wish I could hear your voice  
Don't leave me alone in this bed  
I wish I could touch you once more  
Don't leave me alone in this bed_

_Don't leave me alone in this bed…"_

And then, just like days before, it was all over in a flash. The music had stopped, the screens had fallen to black, and the audience was left to cry. They held onto each other tightly, the candles in their hands bunching together, like a giant flashlight that would shine up to the stars above us.

I glanced up, just to see if I could see any of the balloons, but not a single one could be found. They had all found their way.

Somewhere below, a group started a round of _Amazing Grace_. Iggy, Nate, and I jumped down off of the stage to join the group. Max wrapped her arms around my waist, sighing into my chest, as news agencies from around the U.S. filmed our private singing lessons.

The next morning, Max and I were woken up by Iggy, as he stood over us chuckling.

"You'll never guess what happened."

"What?" I asked groggily, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"The school's water pipes busted. The whole entire first level is covered in three feet of water!"

I cracked a smile, thinking back to Cory, and high-fived Iggy, "He sure knows how to go out in style."

"Most definitely. Now, come on, dude! We have to go get fitted for those wretched graduation gowns," Iggy jogged out of the room as Max leaned her head on my shoulder. I took her hand, running my fingers over it, and kissed the palm of it.

"What was that for?" She grinned up at me, her eyes dancing. I shrugged, slipping out of her bed, and stretched.

"You can keep it. Cause I know that you're just _so_ addicted to me, you can't stand to be away from me for more than a millisecond."

She snorted, rolling her eyes and made her way towards her bathroom, "You are _the_ most conceited person this planet."

"That I am, Maximum Ride, that I am," I smirked as she slammed her bathroom door at me.

"Just admit it!" I yelled as I made my way out of her room and headed towards mine, "You _looooovvveeee_ me."

I heard her door open and my only thoughts were three simple words.

Run. Like. Hell.

**AN:**

**Song: "Alone In This Bed (Capeside)" by Framing Hanley **

**Mmm. I figured I would end this chapter on a nice, fresh note. I don't want them to be depressed for the rest of the story, but I still wanted them to not totally ignore the fact that forty-something people had been killed.**


	17. Class of 2011

**THIS IS THE FINAL CHAPTER.**

**That's right, folks. And there's not even that annoying pig to bust out of a drum to tell you so.**

**Even though hearing it from me is mucho better.**

**Anyway, I have to just say thank you, all you amazing and wonderful people, for sticking with me and reading and reviewing my chapters.**

**MAX POV**

"Now remind me again how you got valedictorian?" Fang asked Iggy as we all straightened our caps. My mom snapped another picture of Emma and I as Iggy shoved Fang into a nearby tree.

"Fang! Hurry and get over here. I want another picture of you and Max." My mom beamed as Fang stepped up next to me and placed a casual arm around my waist. I leaned into his side, cracking another smile as the camera flashed.

"So do you know how Ig got valedictorian?" Fang questioned me as my mom ran off to grab the rest of the Flock for a family photo. I shrugged in his arms, laughing as I watched Iggy smack his face into Emma's hat as he tried to kiss her.

"I say he bought 'em off. Paid everyone to vote for him!" I shouted the last part, fully intending Iggy to hear me. As if on cue, Ig shot his head around in my direction and narrowed his eyes.

"Maximum Ride, how dare you give away my secret! Do you want them to revote and make Nate valedictorian?"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Nate raised an eyebrow at the both of us, who smirked.

"Nothing, Nate, nothing." I replied while Iggy slapped a hand on Nate's back, making him jump.

"See, that's why, right there."

"_What_?" Nate asked, confused as ever, still.

Iggy rolled his sightless eyes, "Never mind. You know what? The teachers credit you _way_ too much, Nate. How did you finish high school again?" The man in question scoffed, cracking his knuckles and was about to land one on Iggy before Mrs. Kemp rushed to where we all stood outside.

"Come on, students! We're getting ready to march in. Get with your partner." She instructed and I hugged Emma, Iggy, and Nate before heading towards my partner, Tyler Rivers.

"Hey!" A voice called through the frenzy. I turned around to find out whom, when I was met with a pair of lips. Good thing it was Fang. We broke apart, his smile mimicking mine as the butterflies in my stomach performed acrobatic routines. Fang's eyes passed over my face and then back to my eyes before simply stating, "Okay," and walked away smiling.

I shook my head, watching him go, and vowed to myself that I would never fully understand that boy.

"Ready?" Tyler announced his presence next to me and I practically jumped out of my graduation gown. I nodded and stood right beside him as we were filed in two at a time. Like Noah's Ark, except none of us were mates, and we weren't animals.

Suddenly, I heard a loud whooping, and stood on my tiptoes to see Iggy getting a round of guys to start pumping their fists and act crazy. Scratch that.

_Most_ of us weren't animals.

**Later…**

"And now, I would like to present to you, the class of 2011, your valedictorian." The school's administrator motioned for Iggy as he left the podium. Iggy took his place, shuffling his papers around, before looking out into the audience. Or… whatever he was doing, since he technically couldn't _see_ to look, but you get my point.

"When all is said and done, will we still feel pain inside? Will the scars go away with time? Our lives are like the best dreams to have, where sometimes everything is not so bad. And if we could just stop and think of where we are… then, where are we? We're high school graduates. Some of us will head off to college and some won't. Some will jump into the working force for their career and some will go to work for money to _get_ a career," Iggy paused and pushed away one of his papers, sliding it underneath the others.

The entire arena was silent; the only sound was the classmates around me shifting in their garments.

"Maybe one of us will cure cancer. Ten or so will become New York business managers. Some will be lawyers, doctors, journalists, business owners, car salesmen… the list goes on and on. But let's just press pause. What are we right _now_? We have forever to deal with what we're going to be, let's just stop and think about what we've become. What's made us who we are, and who we're going to be in the future."

I have to admit, the speech was defying. I hadn't heard a lot of speeches in my life, but I was sure that this one took the cake.

"So, who are we, exactly? We're Lerner's, of course. And we're the Hardin Valley Wolverines," Iggy chuckled, "You can say we're a lot of things. Sometimes we're dramatic, but mostly we're down to earth. Sometimes we're immature, but mostly we're responsible. Sometimes we're lazy, but mostly we're dedicated. Sometimes we're scared, but mostly we're courageous. Sometimes we're difficult, but mostly we're respectful. Sometimes we're negative, but mostly we're inspirational. Sometimes we're scattered, but mostly we're collected. Sometimes we're boring, but mostly we're fun. Sometimes we're stupid, but mostly we're intelligent. Sometimes we're apathetic, but mostly we're passionate. Sometimes we're selfish, but mostly we're compassionate. Sometimes we're strange, but mostly we're unique," Iggy paused to take a breath and push another paper aside.

"Sometimes we're all of these, but we'll always, _always_ know that we're Wolverines. These memories that we've had- the good and the bad ones- will stay with us forever. If there is anything I would like to leave you, my fellow classmates, it is the thought that this story is not only mine. It is yours and what you do with it now will give it meaning."

Short, simple, and straight to the point. A perfect rendition of Iggy himself, explosions aside. All around me the claps were strong and loud, a few whistlers ringing our ears as Iggy stepped off of the stage and back into his seat with the rest of us.

**Later that night…**

After the ceremony and the hugging and tears, the whole senior class was seated around a huge bonfire in the back of the school. This was the same place we were all introduced freshmen year, seated with the bonfire pit ablaze, exactly four years ago.

Our college acceptance- and possibly rejection- letters sat out in front of each of us, waiting to be torn open. But, of course, that would have to wait.

Iggy clapped his hands, gathering our attention, and spoke loudly, "All right. It's about three minutes until midnight. So, grab your letters, and head back to your spots!" I settled down in mine, lying back on the grass and saw bits of firelight shimmer on the trees around us. Fang's figure came into view, taking a seat next to me as I sat up to meet him.

"You think we got in?" I asked. Fang glanced over, shrugged, and grabbed his sealed envelope. A giant seal with University of Florida was stamped onto the front, looking identical to mine. Iggy, Emma, Fang, and I had applied to the same college, that way we wouldn't be separated.

_I'm the first to know, my dearest friends  
Even if your hope has burned with time  
Anything that's dead shall be regrown  
And your vicious pain, your warning sign, you will be fine_

"Now, students, or should I say graduates," Iggy smirked as he made the rounds, catching everyone's attention, "the time has almost come to open your envelopes. All I can say is good luck and I hope you got in. Cause if not, you'll just end up like some people…" He motioned with his head over to Emma and everyone laughed.

"Is he pointing at me?" Emma exclaimed loudly and crossed her arms, "Excuse me, but I'm not the one who got _stuck_ in a freakin _tree_ like a disabled kitten!" The class roared with laughter, even though I had no idea the story behind that yet, and Iggy shrugged, defeated but not letting the comment let him down.

_Hey oh, here I am  
And here we go, life's waiting to begin_

"Anyway, before I was rudely interrupted-" Emma cleared her throat harshly and Iggy put an end to it, "-everyone grab your letters and stand up." We obeyed and soon we all stood in silence, our arms wrapped up around one another, and enjoyed the heat of the fire. It beat across our faces, symbolizing the way our heartbeats thumped erratically as we waited to see what our future would be.

_Any type of love, it will be shown  
Like every single tree, reach for the sky  
If you're going to fall, I'll let you know  
That I will pick you up, like you for I_

"Now, in five… four… three… two… one… OPEN!" Iggy commanded and we shifted into animals. Nails ripped through envelopes, shredding pieces of innocent paper to the ground, where some were blown into the fire and were burnt to a crisp.

There was a chorus of shrieking, squealing, and whooping along with smacking high-fives and bone-crushing hugs. Fang's eyes grew wide and suddenly his arms were around my waist, spinning me around frantically.

"I GOT IN!" He shouted and let me down to snatch my letter from my hands. I hadn't even gotten a chance to read what it said. I watched his eyes scan the paper, looking for those specific words. And then, like a switch was flicked on, his eyes grew wide and a smile spread across his gorgeous face. Then his lips were on mine, pulling me in closely, and I giggled against his mouth.

"So I'm guessing I got in?"

"Damn straight." Fang chuckled and we rushed over to Emma and Iggy to see if they were part of the class of 2015.

"You guys get-?"

"YES! HA, SCHOOL, HA! I _DID_ AMOUNT TO SOMETHING!" Iggy was laughing manically when we reached him. Emma- and the rest of us- gave him an odd look before turning to Fang and I, "You guys get accepted?"

"Chyeah! MIAMI HERE WE COME!" Fang shouted and high-fived Iggy.

_I felt this thing, I can't replace  
Where everyone was working for this goal  
Where all the children left without a trace  
Only to come back as pure as gold to recite this all_

Fang was right. Miami, here we come. We- the crazy pack of mutants and teenagers. We- who were damn proud of making it this far. We- the owner's of the worst school shooting in history just one month ago. We- the ones who had made it through the ups and downs, parties and fights, drama and friendship. We- the graduating class of 2011 from Lerner's High School in Palm Beach.

Iggy, sitting on my left, starts telling his story about the tree incident.

"So, it was about three hours after the concert- back when we did that talent show- and I was just sitting there under the stars, quite bored-"

"And drunk," Emma added and Iggy gave her a look, which didn't help much.

"Anyway, so I look over at Fang and realize that he resembles a panda bear." Fang raised an eyebrow and I giggled, trying to imagine Fang with black and white fur and eating bamboo.

"So, I get this crazy idea that we should become magical panda bears, climb up into the trees, and scare people who walk by. So, we did, and I climbed so far into the tree that in my panda bear sense of mind, I thought I was king of the world. Unbeknownst to me, I was only about seven feet off the ground," Iggy blushed, shrugging our roar of laughter off as he finished his story.

"And my foot, somewhere along the way, got stuck in between two branches, and of course, a drunk person in a tree doesn't work out too well, so I forced myself to think that evil tree beings had captured my foot."

"Evil tree beings?" Nathan snickered, shaking his head back and forth as if he couldn't believe what Iggy was telling him.

"Hey, I was drunk, okay?" Iggy hissed lowly before turning back to the rest of us,

"Anyway, I ended up getting stuck in the tree for the rest of the night basically because I passed out when my foot got caught. The end."

"Are you serious? A MAGICAL PANDA BEAR?" Nate could _not_ stop laughing. I have to say, Nate laughing was about as funny as Iggy's story. I shook my head at Iggy's stupidity and stuck my hands into my hoodie pocket. My fingers hit something and I pulled it out to reveal two photos.

I stared at them, trying to make them out by the light of the fire, and realized the first one was of Fang and I, my hand on his chest as we laughed about something. We were in our graduation caps and gowns and even though the photo was in black and white, you could pick out every single detail. On the back, in my mom's elegant handwriting, was "Max and Fang, May 2011. Fly babies, fly…" I smiled, tucking the picture underneath the next one.

The next photo was of our whole class, all of us in casual clothes, sitting on the football bleachers. In random places there were single white roses with a simple white card and a name written on them. Every single person in the picture was talking or turned around. Some were standing up and others were leaning down to grab someone's attention.

I smiled, realizing that this picture should have been the class picture in the yearbook, instead of that formal one. That photo showed who we really were. We weren't perfect and poised all the time. We were _real_.

I turned the photo over, noticed it was blank, and took out a pen from my shorts. On the back, I simply wrote in block-style letters,

"Miami, here we come."

_I want to have the same last dream again  
The one where I wake up, and I'm alive  
I'm the first to know, my dearest friends_

_That life's waiting to begin  
Life's waiting to begin…_

**Song: The Adventure by Angels & Airwaves**


End file.
